While biodiversity continues to decrease at worrying rhythms, also the mushroom kingdom – often ignored – is increasingly under pressure. THE’IUcn (International Union for the conservation of nature) has recently updated its own Red listreporting that 1,300 fungal species they are today considered to risk of extinction. The data comes following the evaluation of 482 New speciesand the message that accompanies this update is clear: It is necessary to act immediately to protect these essential bodies for life on earth.
The giant knight and the others: 1,300 fungal species already in the IUCN red list
According to what is reported by the OUCN, almost a third of the species of mushrooms assessed So far it is threatened by human activities such as the deforestationtheurban expansiontheagricultural pollution and the climate change. An emblematic example is the Tricholoma Colossususalso said “Giant Knight”which appears between vulnerable species.
The kingdom of mushrooms, the experts recalled, is the second largest after the animal one and potentially includes over 2.5 million speciesof which alone about 155,000 have so far been identified and described. It would therefore only be the tip of the iceberg of a much wider crisis.
The AUCC representatives have underlined how long the mushrooms have long been neglected in conservation policiesdespite their crucial function in maintaining The ecological balances of terrestrial ecosystems.
The threats identified by scientists mainly concern the expansion of intensive agriculture and urban areas, which is pushing many species out of their natural habitats. In total, they would be 279 The species threatened by these transformations of the landscape.
But also Pollution from fertilizers And exhaustcontaining nitrogen and ammonia, is having a significant impact, especially in Europe, where 91 species are damaged from these chemical agents. Among the most affected there is the Intermediate hygrocybea species that was once part of the traditional rural landscape and which today is classified as vulnerable.
The disappearance of the mushrooms is also the deforestationIn particular, the satin cut of primary forests, often replaced by plantations managed with industrial criteria. The iUcn reported that 198 species of mushrooms They are threatened by the destruction of forests for wood or to make room for agriculture.
The problem, explained the researchers, is that the deadly networks – the underground structures on which mushrooms develop – they need decades, if not centuries, to form. Quick forest rotations do not offer the time necessary for their regeneration. From 1975 to today, according to the IUCN data, it has been lost 30% of the Forests of Pini Veusti In Finland, Sweden and Russia. This loss has led to the vulnerability of unique species such as the Tricholoma Colossusus.
The climatic crisis represents a further pressure factor. Over 50 mushroom species in the United States they would be at risk due to change in Forest fire models. The conditions of “Fire Weather” – characterized by warm and dry climate – have become more frequent, increasing the intensity and frequency of fires.
According to what is explained by Anders Dahlbergcoordinator of the Red List Authority for the IUCN SSC specialist group dedicated to mushrooms, The disappearance of mushrooms undermines the ability of ecosystems to resist extreme eventssuch as drought or diseases. The mushrooms, in fact, play a fundamental role in the soil healthIn the carbon cycleand in the symbiosis with plantson which their ability to absorb nutrients depends.
The protection of old forests is essential to save mushrooms and the balance of ecosystems
A precise request arrives from the scientific world: protect ancient forests and rethink forest management practices. Among the most urgent proposals appear to maintain dead wood And scattered trees In the forest areas, and a management that reduces the risk and intensity of the fires.
It was remembered that Many mushrooms are also fundamental for human nutritionfor the production of fermented drinksand for the development of drugsin addition to having enormous potential in the Reclamation of contaminated soils.
In the update of the IUCN red list, the worsening of the conservation status of Six species of Boswelliathe plants from which theincense. These species, endemic of the island of Ball (Yemen), have passed from the “vulnerable” category to “in danger”, while three more They were classified for the first time as “critical danger”.
The main causes would be linked to climate changewhich would have made more frequent and intense Cyclones, floods and landslidesseriously damaging the trees and their habitats.
Second Mohammed Amerlocal expert in Boswellia involved in the IUCN analysis, The survival of incense plants today depends on a decisive and immediate local actionable to counter the effects of the extreme climate and to guarantee the continuity of traditional harvesting and conservation practices.
