My background: a taxonomist caring about biodiversity

Author: Noah Siegel

descriptions of 120 rare mushroom species in one place

in the first place for Forestry personnel as aide in identification

raising awareness of fungi in the National forests of California

with ultimate goal of conservation of these forests with all their denizens

resulting in more data on fungi

A Field Guide to the Rare Fungi of California’s National Forests

Photos Noah Siegel

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Criteria for listing of these 120 species

known from fewer than 25 known locations in California forests

macroscopically identifiable

relatively easy to find

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Taxonomic problems:

European names used for North American species

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Dendrocollybia

Sarcosphaera Vibrissea

Ecological Roles:75 of the 120 are ectomycorrhizal, most with Pinaceae,

2 with Pinus albicaulis40 are wood and plant decayers

5 grow on other mushrooms

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Ecological Roles:

75 of the 120 are ectomycorrhizal

40 are wood and plant decayers5 grow on other mushrooms

Photo Noah Siegel

Ecological Roles:

75 of the 120 are ectomycorrhizal

40 are wood and plant decayers

5 grow on other mushrooms

Photo Noah Siegel

Fruitbody morphology40 species are hypogeous and secotioid

an important food source for small mammals

unique for western North America

photos Noah Siegel & Mike Wood

Snowbank fungi

unique for the mountains of Western North America

fruiting in spring when the snow melts

Photos by Noah Siegel

Hygrophorus goetzii included in the field guidePholiota olivaceophylla a common snowbank fungus

Diverse landscapes in which fungi play crucial roles

& are species rich

on land:

plants have the

largest biomass

from Scientific American, 2018

on land:

plants have the

largest biomass

soil fungi are second !

on land:

plants have the

largest biomass

soil fungi are second !

wild birds come last …

Human attention to these three groups at iNaturalist

PLANTS

FUNGI

BIRDS

135 fungal species are listed as Strategy 1

species in the record of decision (ROD) for

amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of

Land Management planning documents within

the range of the northern spotted owl.

These species have to be surveyed on federal

land, and adequate management measures have

to be taken.

Nothing similar exists in California.

145 fungal taxa included in the IUCN red list

but the IUCN Red List is not a legal document,

but an advocacy tool

a set of universal IUCN criteria

Translation of the IUCN criteria for fungi

SCIENTIFIC DATA THANKS TO A

NETWORK OF HUNDREDS

OF VOLUNTEER ORNITHOLOGISTS

Contributing Observation Data

iNaturalist.org

Contributing observation data

mushroomobserver.org

Contributing observation & voucher datamycoportal.org

Thank you !

email Noah Siegel

or Else Vellinga

for a pdf of the book