Macrofungal diversity in a colombian tropical dry forest: species richness and conservation insights

Abstract

This study presents the first comprehensive inventory of macrofungi in the Ecoreserva La Tribuna, a remnant of tropical dry forest (TDF) in Huila, Colombia, one of the most threatened and underexplored ecosystems in the Neotropics. Using an integrated approach that combines morphological analysis and DNA barcoding, we documented 101 macrofungal species, including 71 Basidiomycota, 13 Ascomycota, and 17 additional morphospecies. These were distributed across 67 genera, 41 families, and 16 orders. Species accumulation curves and richness estimators suggest that true diversity may exceed 260 species. Remarkably, 59 species are new records for the department, 20 are new to Colombia, and 61 have not been previously reported in the TDFs. Most taxa are saprotrophs, particularly wood decomposers, and over half of the species have documented or potential applications in food, medicine, or biotechnology. Spatial analysis revealed that species richness was highest in developed forest stands and was positively related to habitat complexity and substrate diversity. These findings highlight the urgent need for systematic mycological surveys in underexplored ecosystems, such as TDFs, which host rich yet still poorly undocumented fungal communities. They also underscore the importance of incorporating fungi into national biodiversity policies, conservation strategies, and ecological restoration efforts.

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