Wood-inhabiting corticioid and poroid fungi (Basidiomycota) from Reserva Ecológica da Universidade Estadual de Goiás, a remnant of the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

Corticioid and poroid fungi are traditional morphological groups composed of ligninolytic species. Due to their efficiency in wood decomposition process, many species have great ecological importance, especially in nutrient cycling, as well as for their biotechnological properties. Nevertheless, knowledge about these fungi is scarce in many phytogeographic regions of Brazil, as is the case of the Cerrado, since mycodiversity studies in this biome are mainly focused on areas of the São Paulo state. Here we present the taxonomic inventory of corticioid and poroid fungi from the Reserva Ecológica da Universidade Estadual de Goiás (REC-UEG), a Cerrado remnant in Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil. The area is covered by three typical Cerrado landscapes (cerrado stricto sensu, mesophilic forest, and gallery forest), widely explored for scientific and educational purposes by the academic and regional community which seeks to learn about and preserve its biodiversity. Exsiccates deposited in the fungarium of the Universidade Estadual de Goiás (HUEG-Fungi) were analyzed. They are the result of collections made over 20 years, in approximately 103 ha of the reserve. Samples were characterized macro and microscopically and identified based on specialized literature. 51 species were recognized, which are distributed in 33 genera, 15 families, and five orders. Species were most frequent in forested areas and among them, six are new occurrence records for the Cerrado, nine for the Midwest region, and nine for the Goiás state. These results contribute to increase the knowledge of these fungi in the Cerrado, as well as geographic distribution, and show the relevance of preserving the reserve for the regional Funga representativity.