Taxonomic gap in wood-inhabiting fungi: identifying understudied groups by a systematic survey

Despite advances in phylogenetic research and the number of ecological studies focusing on wood-inhabiting fungi, these species still represent a taxonomically poorly known group of organisms. In this study, our overall aim was to detect and characterize the understudied wood-inhabiting fungal groups in the beech forests of Navarre (northern Spain). We present a list of 326 wood-inhabiting fungal species, out of which 36 % are first regional records. Comparing the already recorded fungal species in this territory and the list of firstly recorded species, we found that field-mycologists tend to focus on certain fungal groups, and in general rare species are less frequently encountered. Particularly, species with corticioid fruit body type have been especially overlooked in this territory. We attribute the high proportion of new regional records to the use of a systematic sampling design.