A Preliminary Checklist of Macroscopic Fungi at Quezon Protected Landscape, Southern Tagalog Region, Philippines

A preliminary collection of macroscopic fungal species was conducted at Quezon Protected Landscape (QPL) at Atimonan, Southern Luzon, Philippines (13°59'22''N 121°48'59''E). The Protected Area has been considered one of the diverse forest ecosystems in the Calabarzon region due to its forested area teeming with huge trees and numerous wildlife that demand conservation and protection. This paper aims to establish initial baseline data on the macroscopic fungal species in this significant forest ecosystem. An opportunistic sampling method resulted in the collection and identification of twenty-nine families, fifty-one genera, and hundred-six species of macroscopic fungi. Among 106 different species, 94 species (88.68%) are basidiomycetous fungi, while 12 (11.32%) are ascomycetous ones that accounted for the three families, Pezizaceae, Sarcoscyphaceae, and Xylariaceae. For Basidiomycetes, the family Polyporaceae is the most abundant in QPL, with six, genera and a total of twenty-five different species, eleven of which belong to the genus Polyporus. The family Tricholomataceae ranked second in high species count with twelve different species. For Ascomycetes, the family Xylariaceae has the highest species count, with eight different species seen and collected. Xylaria multiplex (Kunze) Fr. is the most abundant macroscopic fungi in the collection, comprised of 408 collected individuals. A greater number of fungal species (73 species) were markedly observed in higher elevations (245-258 masl) than in lower elevations (242-244 masl) which documented only 47 species.

Keywords: diversity, forest ecosystem, macroscopic fungi, protected landscape