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Polypores of a North Carolina Piedmont Forest

Fungi play an important role in recycling woody debris in forest ecosystems. The dynamics of fungal decay of woody debris are important factors in creating animal habitat and soil organic matter as well as causing economic losses in the commercial utilization of timber resources. Polypore fungi account for approximately 70% of the fungi capable of decaying wood. On September 6,1996 winds from Hurricane Fran downed trees throughout the Piedmont of North Carolina and provided abundant substrate for polypore development. The objectives of this research were to: 1)Survey two forested tracts, totaling 115 hectares, for the occurrence of polypore fungi; 2) Record any new fungi or host-fungi associations for North Carolina; 3) Develop a key, based on macroscopic features, to these polypores for use by non-experts. A 100% cruise of Schenck Forest and an adjacent tract of land in Wake County, North Carolina was completed. Fifty-six polypore species representing 37 genera in five families were observed. Twenty-four taxa of woody plants were recorded as substrates. Six of these fungi are new reports for North Carolina. Fourteen of the host-fungi associations are new reports for the United States. A key and individual species descriptions are presented.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-12102003-133109
Date11 December 2003
CreatorsVernia, Caroline Sue
ContributorsRichard Braham, Barry Goldfarb, Larry Grand
PublisherNCSU
Source SetsNorth Carolina State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-12102003-133109/
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