Pyrophilous fungi detected after wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park expand known species ranges and biodiversity estimates

A study of post-wildfire fungal communities in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park revealed 27 previously unrecorded pyrophilous fungi, expanding biodiversity estimates by nearly 1%. Researchers documented 41 taxa of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota over two years, identifying 22 Pezizales species as early responders to severe burn zones, with only one prior record in the park. Five obligate pyrophilous fungi were confirmed, along with two fire-enhanced species. Fungal fruiting peaked 4–6 months post-fire but persisted up to 2.5 years. The study also detected cryptic endemic lineages and proposed a new fungal combination, Hygrocybe spadicea var. spadicea f. odora.

Hughes, K. W., Matheny, P. B., Miller, A. N., Petersen, R. H., Iturriaga, T. M., Johnson, K. D., Methven, A. S., Raudabaugh, D. B., Swenie, R. A., & Bruns, T. D. (2020). Pyrophilous fungi detected after wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park expand known species ranges and biodiversity estimates. Mycologia, 112(4), 677–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2020.1740381