Diversity and habitat relationships of hypogeous fungi. I. Study design, sampling techniques and general survey results

Hypogeous fungi are a large yet unknown component of biodiversity in forests of south-eastern mainland Australia. To better define their diversity and habitat relationships, we identified and counted fruit-bodies at 136 study sites sampling the climatic, geological and topographic features of the region. In one year 7451 fruit-bodies representing 209 species were collected in an autumn and spring sampling period. Only 57 of these species were previously described. Within genera, the number of species ranged from 1 to 21. Sites sampled in autumn averaged higher diversity of species and greater number of fruit-bodies than the same sites sampled in spring. Most major taxa occurred at more sites in autumn than in spring, whereas a few occurred more frequently in spring than in autumn. These patterns are consistent with those identified in previous smaller studies and likely reflect seasonal changes in soil moisture and temperature levels. Subsequent papers will explore factors influencing the occurrence, relative abundance and numbers of species of hypogeous fungi at the study sites and their community structure and possible host–plant relationships.