The importance of saproxylic fungi and the affecting factors on their diversity and abundance in forest ecosystems - Referring to the most important saproxylic fungi in Asalem forest, Guilan province

Today, in near-to-nature forestry, biodiversity conservation, with emphasis on forests conservation, as a valuable genetic resource, has received much attention. Deadwood, as a habitat, plays a key role in diversity and abundance of saproxylic fungi in forest ecosystems. The uncontrolled exploitation, and the management programs applied in forests, have significantly reduced the deadwood volumes and diversity, jeopardizing diversity and abundance of saproxylic fungi. In this study, 29 saproxylic fungal species belonging to 15 families from the phylum Basidiomycota were collected from Asalem forest, Guilan province, northern Iran. The recovered species were identified based upon their morphological characters, using available identification keys. The results showed that the family Polyporaceae (31%) and the species Trametes versicolor (18.4%) have the highest abundance between other families and identified species, respectively. The importance of saproxylic fungi, introduction of deadwood, as a habitat and a key factor in biodiversity of saproxylic fungi in forest ecosystems, have also been discussed.