Norwegian researchers hunt unknown fungi in mountains
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In August, researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and NIBIO surveyed fungal diversity in Láhko National Park, Norway, hoping to document species and potentially discover new ones.
Tor Erik Brandrud and Thomas Holm Carlsen led the team through alpine Dryas heath, an area with largely unexplored fungal life. Within days, they identified over 120 fungal species, with strong indications some had never been recorded in Norway before.
The scientists focused on fungi living in connection with plants like the mountain avens, a species already facing habitat loss due to climate change and the encroaching tree line. They emphasized the urgency of documenting these species before environmental changes cause further biodiversity loss. The wet summer provided ideal conditions for fungal growth, but researchers needed to quickly locate and carefully collect young specimens before they dried out.
The collected fungi will be sent to laboratories in Hungary and Canada for DNA sequencing to confirm whether any are entirely new to science. The team is particularly interested in a potential new-to-Northern-Europe parasol mushroom and a coral fungus possibly new to Norway, but final results could take up to a year. They hope their work will contribute to a better understanding of these ecosystems and the roles fungi play within them.
