SAMPLING PROTOCOLS
A common procedure of collecting, describing and preserving specimens in the YSU Fungarium is followed the protocols described in (Mueller et al. 2004). The collection of specimens is made by direct observation and extraction of fruiting structures from the substrate. The two major approaches were used: observation and collection of fruiting structures of larger fungi by naked eye, and lens observations of substrates followed by extraction of smaller fruiting structures of discomycetes, hyphomycetes, pyrenomycetes etc. No pure culture cultivation was used up to date.
The general protocol of specimen preparation follows several steps
- Fruiting structures photographed and growing conditions described in the field.
- The specimens extracted from the substrate, or collected with the substrate for smaller specimens, and packed in aluminium foil to be processed in the laboratory later on the day of collection.
- Macro-morphological features described according to schemes required for specific groups.
- Fruiting structures dried after processing in a drying oven under 40°C and stored as dry specimens in ziploc bags and labelled kraft-paper envelopes.
- The collection data and related pictures of fresh fruiting structures and microphotographs filled in the Specify database.
The collections were made by the specialists or amateur mycologists, the total number of collectors – 50, the majority of specimens in the collection made by N. Filippova. Identification was performed by a total of 20 specialists through direct work in the Fungarium, in other laboratories with loaned material, or making comments on identification through Internet mycological forums. About 25% of the collection specimens are currently not identified to the species rank, including specimens from groups with complex systematis and under-identified field collections.
The digitization of the Fungarium YSU came in line with its development from the beginning. The Fungarium database was managed initially in MS Excel and MS Access, and later imported in Specify 6 software. Currently all specimens of the collection are digitized and mobilized. All specimens were accompanied by in situ photographs as an obligatory procedure of the protocol. The images were imported in the database and available for access thorough Specify Web Portal, GBIF (Filippova 2021a) and Mycology Collections Portal. The imaging of dried specimens is not obligatory for fungarium collections, but could be perfomed in the future to provide representation of the storage material.
Loans and gifts
About 300 specimens were loaned or given away as gifts to specialists during the existence of the Fungarium. The total number of loan agents (borrowers or donors) amounted to 14, with countries represented as follows: Russia (374), China (19), USA (10), Germany (8), and the Netherlands (1). The major collections to which the specimens were donated include the Herbarium of Komarov Botanical Institute, Saint-Petersburg (LE) – 263 specimens; The Fungarium of the University of Illinois, USA – 3 specimens; The Herbarium of the University of Leipzig (LZ) – 1 holotype specimen.
Last update: 15.02.2024