Macroscopic Fungi at Southern Tagalog Region Protected Landscape: A Hidden Diversity

Macroscopic fungi are found everywhere, mainly thriving in all kinds of ecosystems. A study was conducted at Southern Tagalog Region Protected Landscape, particularly in Quezon National Park found at Pagbilao and Atimonan, Quezon, one of the protected areas in Southern Luzon, to determine what kind of fungi thrive and grow in Karst and Lowland dipterocarp forests. The sampling used a transect line with quadrat and opportunistic sampling methods. One hundred forty-one morpho-species of macroscopic fungi belonging to 44 families in the Quezon Protected Area were documented and collected.  The most species-rich are the Family Polyporaceae (28 species), followed by the Family Agaricaceae (10 species) and Mycenaceae (6 species). The families Xylariaceae, Auriculariaceae, Hymenochaetaceae, Marasmiaceae, and Psathyrellaceae are represented by five species each, and four species represent the families Cantharellaceae, Fomitopsidaceae, Ganodermataceae, Stereaceae, and Tricholomataceae. The families Sarcoscyphaceae and Bolbitiaceae are represented by three species and families Pezizaceae, Auriscalpiaceae, Boletaceae, Clavariaceae, Corticiaceae, Crepidotaceae, Dacryomycetaceae, Geastraceae, Lyophyllaceae, Meruliaceae, Nidulariaceae, Physalacriaceae, Ramariaceae, Russulaceae, and Strophariaceae represented by two species. Only one species represents the rest of the families. Fungal research must be encouraged to evaluate the effects of anthropogenic activities in the area and use the data for forest management.

Keywords: Ecosystem, karst forest, macrofungi, morpho-species, protectedlandscape