Clavarioid-type fungi from Svalbard: Their spatial distribution in the European high Arctic

Abstract

The list of fungi with club or coralloid-type ('clavarioid') basidiomes from the Svalbard archipelago presented here includes 22 species from 7 genera in several families of Basidiomycota. Nineteen of them are new for the region. Genera include Artomyces, Clavaria, Clavulina, Macrotyphula, Multiclavula, Ramaria and Typhula. A quantitative analysis is also presented on the distribution of these fungi on Svalbard in comparison to similar taxa in other high Arctic regions, such as the Novaya Zemlya Isles (Russia) and Yamal Peninsula (Russia). Data suggest that for fungi with 'clavarioid' basidiomes richness and diversity decreases with high latitude (towards colder regions) and also with distance from the warm influence of the Gulf Stream. This study found that fungi with club type basidiomes are a primary component of the non-gilled Basidiomycota in the Arctic region which is depauperate in 'poroid', 'thelephoroid' and 'hydnoid' fungi. © 2010 Pacific Northwest Fungi Project.