ARKHANGELSK, May 18. /TASS/. Scientists for the first time collected data on aphyllophore (wood-destroying) fungi on the Mudyug Island, located in the Northern Dvina Delta in the Arkhangelsk Region, leading researcher at the Laboratory of Arctic Forest Ecosystems of the Laverov Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Studies (Arkhangelsk, the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) Oleg Yezhov told TASS.

The Mudyug is a large island with a unique ecosystem on the border between the river and the sea. The island is the Mudyugsky Nature Reserve.

"By now, the list of aphyllophore fungi in the Mudyugsky Reserve includes 106 species. It is for the first time in the Arkhangelsk Region that experts have recorded three species (Lindtneria leucobryophila, Peniophora piceae and Phlebia albomellea) in the reserve. These species were represented by isolated finds on the common pine's fallen trunks. For Russia's European part, Jaapia argillacea was the first discovery at the time it was found, Phlebia albomellea was the second after several finds in the Sverdlovsk Region," the scientist said.

Jaapia argillacea is a rare fungus with annual fruit bodies, which initially are cobwebbed, then solid, soft, weakly attached. It was found on a thick fallen pine branch near a swamp. The species is found worldwide in Europe, North America, and Australia, though it is rare everywhere. In Russia's European part, the species has been found in the Arkhangelsk Region only.

Phlebia albomellea's fruit bodies are annual, prostrate, often merging, forming thin films, dirty-whitish or whitish-grayish, sometimes with a purplish tinge. The fungi were found on a fallen pine trunk in a lichen pine forest. This species is found worldwide in Europe, Alaska, and Australia, and it is very rare everywhere. In Russia's European part, the species, like jaapia, has been found in the Arkhangelsk Region only.

Forest indicator species

The nature reserve's specialists have identified nine indicator species, where seven species are indicators of old and two - of virgin spruce and pine forests. The protected and indicator species are mainly confined to old-growth forests and are sensitive to environmental changes. "I consider it necessary to conduct an expanded biological monitoring of the Mudyug forests, including the study of other floral groups," the expert told TASS.

To date, three species listed in the Arkhangelsk Region's Red Data Book, have been found on the Mudyug: Jaapia argillacea, Peniophora junipericola, and Postia hibernica. The first two species have been found in specific conditions. Jaapia argillacea was in sparsely coniferous pine forests on the border of dry and humid conditions. Peniophora junipericola is a dry-hardy species and it is confined only to the dry-hardy trunks of the common juniper.

"If we compare finds with other studied island territories in the Arkhangelsk Region - islands of the Solovetsky and Kii archipelagos- on the Mudyug Island we can see bigger numbers of xerophilic (dry-hardy) species (25.3% vs 15.6% and 17.8%, respectively). The reason may be that different types of lichen, lingonberry and sphagnum pine forests alternate on the Mudyug, whereas on the other island territories forest biocenoses are more diverse. Nevertheless, the presence of rare species in each of the island territories makes them unique and having no analogues in the region," the expert said in conclusion.