Skogssvamp
Developping an application that will visualise soil fungi in Swedish forests
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Skogs svamp
A (planned) web application that will visualise soil fungi in Swedish forests
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About the Project
Skogssvamp (forest mushroom) is an ongoing project to
develop a web application to concretely and pedagogically communicate what the
presence and distribution of mushrooms in different forest stands might look like. The
application is intended to visualise the predominantly hidden diversity of mycorrhizal
and decomposer fungi in Swedish forests. Users will be able to test and see the potential
effect different types of forest management have on the species composition of
soil fungi.
At the end of the project, we will analyse the possibility to develop similar visualisations for other types of biodiversity.
The project is based at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science and is planned to be realised with support from, among others, forest owners, Skogforsk, the Swedish Species Information Bank and the Swedish Forest Agency.
At the end of the project, we will analyse the possibility to develop similar visualisations for other types of biodiversity.
The project is based at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science and is planned to be realised with support from, among others, forest owners, Skogforsk, the Swedish Species Information Bank and the Swedish Forest Agency.
Method
The visualisations are made realistic
and stand specific by allowing users to enter
their own information about tree species, stand age, field layers and coordinates that are linked to data on species and frequency of which soil fungi are expected to occur in the stand.
The fungi data is provided from an ongoing e-DNA survey conducted under the auspices of the national soil inventory since 2015. It currently covers about 2500 forests (2022).
For information about the fungi data visit svamparisverige.se (Currently showing 1800 forests).
Generalised based on forest condition and location in Sweden, the application will show which soil fungi is likely to occur and what the mycelium distributions may look like in a given stand. The species occurrences are visualised spatially in a digital model where the ground is shown transparently with the roots of the trees and the diversity of the fungi mycelium visible. We plan to supplement the application with information on potentially occurring edible mushrooms and red-listed mushrooms from the SLU Swedish Species Information Centre.
In the application, users will be allowed to compare and see how soil fungi can be affected and promoted through different types of forest management and different variants of nature conservation.
The fungi data is provided from an ongoing e-DNA survey conducted under the auspices of the national soil inventory since 2015. It currently covers about 2500 forests (2022).
For information about the fungi data visit svamparisverige.se (Currently showing 1800 forests).
Generalised based on forest condition and location in Sweden, the application will show which soil fungi is likely to occur and what the mycelium distributions may look like in a given stand. The species occurrences are visualised spatially in a digital model where the ground is shown transparently with the roots of the trees and the diversity of the fungi mycelium visible. We plan to supplement the application with information on potentially occurring edible mushrooms and red-listed mushrooms from the SLU Swedish Species Information Centre.
In the application, users will be allowed to compare and see how soil fungi can be affected and promoted through different types of forest management and different variants of nature conservation.
See the Mushrooms in your Forest
How many different mushrooms are there in my forest?
In Sweden, it is common with around a thousand different fungi in a single forest stand, in which between one hundred and two hundred can be different species of mycorrhizal fungi. Although the fungi are not visible above ground, they live down in the soil among the tree roots; the whole ground is like a large mycelium carpet.
A small number of species are common and make up the majority of fungi in forests. Most species are rare and many only occur occasionally.
What species are there in my forest?
Different mushrooms thrive in different forest environments. Which mushrooms that can be found depends on which trees grow there, where in the country the stand is located, the age and history of the stand, alongside a few additional environmental factors.
With the use of a mushroom database compiled from soil samples from over 2000 forests throughout Sweden, we’re able to calculate which species may be present in a forest.
We additionally plan to highlight the potential occurrences of edible and red-listed mushrooms in the application.
How does forest management affect the species composition?
The idea with the application is that with data on the stand's forest type, area and perhaps surrounding stands, it will be possible to interactively calculate and visualize how different forest management (thinning, final felling, clear-cut methods and different conservation considerations) can potentially affect the occurrence and species composition of mushrooms over time.
In Sweden, it is common with around a thousand different fungi in a single forest stand, in which between one hundred and two hundred can be different species of mycorrhizal fungi. Although the fungi are not visible above ground, they live down in the soil among the tree roots; the whole ground is like a large mycelium carpet.
A small number of species are common and make up the majority of fungi in forests. Most species are rare and many only occur occasionally.
What species are there in my forest?
Different mushrooms thrive in different forest environments. Which mushrooms that can be found depends on which trees grow there, where in the country the stand is located, the age and history of the stand, alongside a few additional environmental factors.
With the use of a mushroom database compiled from soil samples from over 2000 forests throughout Sweden, we’re able to calculate which species may be present in a forest.
We additionally plan to highlight the potential occurrences of edible and red-listed mushrooms in the application.
How does forest management affect the species composition?
The idea with the application is that with data on the stand's forest type, area and perhaps surrounding stands, it will be possible to interactively calculate and visualize how different forest management (thinning, final felling, clear-cut methods and different conservation considerations) can potentially affect the occurrence and species composition of mushrooms over time.
click for felling scenarios click for felling
click for felling scenarios
click for felling
A presentation about forest mushrooms and how they are affected by forestry is available at SLU Play
(in Swedish)