DIVERSITY OF MACROFUNGAL COMMUNITIES IN CHIKMAGALUR DISTRICT OF WESTERN GHATS, INDIA

Macrofungi form an integral part of all forest systems. The main goal of the present study is to expand the baseline database for macrofungal documentation, diversity and its distribution in the Western Ghats of Chikmagalur district for establishing an inventory of the macrofungi species.Twenty transects each measuring 50 x 20 m were laid in sampling stations of Chikmagalur district. The study sites were selected randomly and macrofungi were collected during 2007 to 2011. A total of 6,950 sporomas were collected. The relationship between macrofungal species richness and sampling plots was analyzed using linear regression. Dacrymycetaceae, Ganodermataceae, Polyporaceae and Russulaceae were found to be the most dominant families during study. Armillaria, Calocera, Ganoderma, Panaeolus, Polyporus, Psathyrella and Russula were the most dominating genera during five years study (2007-11). Calocera viscosa, Ganoderma carnosum, Panaeolus fimicola, Psathyrella candolleana, Russulaatro purpurea, Scutellinia erinaceus, Termitomyces tylerianus and Trametes hirsuta were the most predominating species. The Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were found to be highest during 2007 (H’=4.35; D=0.031), respectively.