Mr G. Kibby (Senior Editor of Field Mycology)
fieldmycol@yahoo.co.uk
Dorothea Bate Room, Paleontology Wing, Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London
Tuesday 17 th June 2008
Summary by Dr J. Wearn
Mr Kibby delivered a very interesting and engaging talk. The lecture formed two main sections. Mr Kibby began by discussing selected fungal species which were traditionally recorded from sub-tropical or Mediterranean climates but that had recently begun occurring and spreading through the UK. This change was likely to be attributed to climate change, especially as host substrates in the UK adopted by the fungi often began with wood chip heaps which provide artificial man-made warm microclimates for the mycelium (current research on this at RBG Kew by Paul Bridge). The second section of the talk commented upon the major work being undertaken to quantitatively assess the effects of climate change (particularly the warming phenomenon) on fungi, in which Mr Kibby heavily referred to the work of Alan and Ted Gange, whose paper in Science (2007) he regarded highly. Prof. Alan Gange’s recent analysis of his father’s approximately 52,000 fungal fruiting records from southern England provided strong evidence for climate change causing earlier and longer fruiting times for many species.
Species mentioned:
(Many of which have been first recorded in the UK at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).
- Agrocybe putaminum – originally sub-tropical, recorded in wood chip at Kew in 1980s and has now spread though the UK.
- Leriomyces ceres – recorded in 1957 in UK, now spread from wood chip to wild habitat (fallen twigs/branches) owing to warmer temperature. Recorded in Epping and Surrey forests.
- Psilocybe cyanescens – originally known from Mexico but recorded in UK in 1940 (again as a one-off from chips at Kew, some of these species could have been introduced by poor specimen disposal – out of the window – at the herbarium in the early days!), now naturalised in the wild in the last 20 years, it has jumped from the artificial habitat as the temperature has sufficiently increased.
- Agrocybe rivulosa – originally sub-tropical, first recorded from The Netherlands in 2003 and south of UK in 2004, in the last 4 years it has spread rapidly to Scotland (but only in warm woodchip heaps further north as it has a preference for warmth).
- Clathrus archeri – Australasian, occasional UK records in the past but now very established in southern England.
- Clathrus rubra – traditionally Mediterranean, now moving up the UK.
- Asteroe rubra – a common stinkhorn in Hawaii, now established in UK (e.g. recorded on Birch wood on Esher Common).
- Perenniporia ochroleuca – African and Mediterranean polypore, now spreading northwards in UK.
- Amanita inopinata – First UK record from Essex in 1987 (present in sheep field near Flatford Mill), now spreading north. Also in NZ. Distinctive shaggy black cap with peachy/yellow gills) – report to Mr Kibby if seen.
- Amanita ovoidea – a Mediterranean species now on Isle of Wight and Wiltshire records recently.
Note: RBG Kew produces its own wood chip, it is not delivered from elsewhere in the UK and it is only deciduous wood chip that provides a good fungal substrate. Coniferous chip is almost sterile in this respect.
Conversely:
- One that should have arrived in the UK by now but hasn’t is Amanita caesarea – it is present across the Channel in France on Quercus host but not here yet. Predicted to arrive soon – watch out for it!
- Some native species have declined as temperature increases (e.g. Chanterelles in Epping Forest).
Consequences:
- As the temperature increases, trees become more stressed and this increases the growth and effect of pathogens such as Armillaria mellea (Honey Fungus).
- Rusts and mildews rapidly on the increase and producing their sexual stages as well now in some species that only used to produce the asexual stage.
- The Agrocybe species mentioned above are an example of non-native invaders pushing the UK natives out.
- Higher trophic level knock-on effects, will have to be temporal adaption to life cycles of other species as those of fungi shift and/or elongate.
- Increased decomposition rates (Gange et al. 2007 Science).