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This number of Mycologia Balcanica is devoted to fungal conservation and, in particular, to a special meeting on the topic held in October 2009 at the Whitby Museum, Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK. The objective of that meeting, funded by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the UK Darwin Initiative, was to raise awareness among mycologists of three key elements of fungal conservation: science, infrastructure and politics.

Ideas for a preliminary strategy for conserving non-lichen-forming ascomycetes and their anamorphs are presented and discussed under four main headings: infrastructure, politics, education and science.

Conservation of fungal diversity needs to be integrated. Smut fungi are potentially a key group for illustrating the problems encountered when estimating the conservation status of microscopic fungi. Various difficulties in assessing the status of smut fungi are described. Examples are provided of threatened species of smut fungi, evaluated with IUCN criteria.

Fungal conservation needs a good knowledge of the ecology and distribution of target species. A computerized database is essential to store large amounts of records which can be enhanced and corrected. Three examples are given to illustrate the potential of a database for conservation management and developing conservation strategies. Distribution maps and especially estimated areas of occurrence, obtained by modelling, help build reliability. Associated organism of wood-inhabiting fungi identifies pioneer trees as exceptionally rich woody substrata which have implications in forestry management. The correlation between area size and number of inhabitants reveals the importance of urban areas for conservation.

The need for conservation of fungi in Europe has arisen after it was found in several countries that hundreds of fungal species have become extinct. Although Greece is located at the southernmost end of Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean, in a climatic zone characterized by long periods of drought, its mycota appear quite rich and unique. In recent years, Greek and also foreign companies have been picking enormous quantities of edible mushrooms from restricted geographical regions on a commercial level. There is no legislation as yet to monitor this new activity and to certify the mushrooms that are consumed by the public. After studying this situation, a technical committee submitted a proposal in 2007 for legislation to be introduced in order to protect the public from possible mushroom poisoning and also to regulate mushroom picking in an effort to conserve the fungal biodiversity. Sadly, the proposal has not been forwarded accordingly, the reason being “it was opposed by commercial interests”. It is concluded that in addition to having an integrated and sound scientific proposal on the subject, political will is also necessary.

Fungi merit protection no less than other living organisms. This is best effected using when ex situ conservation complements in situ conservation. Ex situ conservation means preservation and maintenance of fungal genetic resources in pure culture. Culture collections (“genetic resource collections” and “biological resource centres”) play a key role in successful storage of fungal strains. Specialist organizations direct global co-ordination of culture collection activities in conservation, research, and sustainable use of genetic resources. In Russia the largest culture collection preserving fungi (and various groups of micro-organisms) is the All-Russian Culture Collection (VKM), with over 5000 fungal strains. Ex situ conservation of macromycete diversity is carried out by the Komarov Botanical Institute Basidiomycetes Culture Collection (LE–BIN), a specialized collection maintaining taxonomic diversity of macromycetes with an emphasis on rare, endangered and ectomycorrhizal species, medicinal fungi, and strains useful for biotechnology. Currently that collection maintains over 1600 strains of about 600 species from 184 genera, 51 families, and 8 orders of macromycetes. The LE–BIN culture collection has been developed for ex situ conservation of as many macromycete species as possible.

Examples from the spectacular and economically important fungus genus Boletus illustrate the current state of and recent events in fungal conservation in Bulgaria. National legislation is reviewed as a base for conservation and sustainable management of fungi. The evaluation approach and application of IUCN criteria for boletes on the new national Red List are illustrated by suitable examples.

Australia’s biota, including fungi, is highly diverse and highly endemic with many species also highly at risk of extinction. Despite ratifying international conventions and the development of national biodiversity conservation strategies, little has changed in the conservation status of Australian fungi over the last decade. Fungi remain largely neglected in most conservation legislation, notwithstanding their importance to ecosystem functioning and consequently to humanity, and there are very few mycologists employed in reference collections or conservation agencies. Few fungi have been included on formal threat status lists and a coordinated national approach toward compiling a threat status list for fungi is urgently required. Given the anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity including climate change, increases in wildfire and subsequent habitat destruction, there is a pressing need for recognition and incorporation of fungi in management and conservation initiatives. Community groups are making an increasingly significant contribution to fungal conservation, especially through mapping and monitoring, but their efforts need greater support from government. There remains a need for a coherent national strategy for the conservation of Australian fungi.

The New Zealand Government’s Department of Conservation facilitates assessment of the threat status of all species of New Zealand’s fauna, flora, and fungi on a regular basis. Fungi have been included in these assessments since 2002, and this has stimulated renewed research and awareness of fungal conservation. Assessment has centred mainly on macrofungi and obligate species on threatened plants. Currently, 49 fungal species are listed in the highest threat category (Nationally Critical), 16 species in lower threat categories, and about 1440 species as Data Deficient. In a complementary initiative, the Department is prioritising long-term recovery plans of all species of New Zealand’s threatened taxa that are in decline through evaluation of methodology, feasibility, and cost. This work includes the fungi. To support this work, recent studies have applied molecular techniques to seek new records of Data Deficient fungal species to more accurately define their threat status.

Nature conservation and conservation training in Africa are actively pursued and receive much international interest, but there is little awareness of fungi, of their importance, their uses, their unexplored diversity and the need to protect them. This review summarises the current state of fungal conservation in Africa, describes the recent establishment of the African Workgroup on Fungal Conservation, and discusses possible ways forward for fungal conservation on the continent.

In a brief review of hypogeous ascomycetes occurring in desert regions of the Mediterranean, Middle East, north Africa, and adjacent countries, the food value, cultivation possibilities, mycorrhizal associations, and conservation status of species in the genera Delastria, Phaeangium, Terfezia, and Tirmania are discussed.

Fungal conservation started attracting the attention of mycologists when the decrease of certain groups of macrofungi became prominent in some countries in the 1980s. Today accurate information on habitat types, substrates, and host specificity of species especially in a semi-quantitative form, are most needed. There is need to pay special attention to experimental studies on the impact of man’s influence on the ecosystems and consequently on the mycoflora. Good legislation on threatened species and communities exists in Cameroon. However, there are no evaluation on the conservation studies of Cameroonian fungi, no comprehensive threat assessment for fungi, no culture collection and maintenance centres and no national organ to promote fungal protection and conservation. Poor public perception and knowledge of fungal diversity, lack of personnel, and public and stakeholder education and training should also be given priority.

More than 1,000 species of fungi have been reported from the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic region. Most are species known from elsewhere in the world, particularly from cool temperate and alpine habitats: few are considered truly endemic to the Antarctic region. Several legislative mechanisms are available that could be used to protect or conserve the Antarctic mycota. These include national legislation within the sub-Antarctic islands, and the Measures and Decisions of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting which have jurisdiction within the Antarctic Treaty area south of latitude 60° S.

A new species, Massariosphaeria websteri, on submerged decaying culms of a grass (possibly Phragmites karka) in freshwater in Pakistan is described, illustrated and compared with closely related taxa in the genus Massariosphaeria. It is characterized by immersed, scattered, subglobose to conical, ostiolate ascomata each with a papillate beak; 20–32 µm thick, 5–7 layers, polygonal to rectangular peridial cells; branched and anastomosed pseudoparaphyses; relatively large (170–245 × 26.5–35 µm), fissitunicate, cylindrical asci; and ascospores large-sized (av. 52.2 × 13.5 µm), narrowly fusiform to clavate, (7–) 8–11-septate, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. Additionally, six other members of the Pleosporales, Massariosphaeria typhicola, Lophiostoma caulium, Lophiostoma compressum, Lophiostoma quadrinucleatum, Nodulosphaeria aquilana,  and Trichometasphaeria culmifida are reported.

Four interesting species of the genus Hymenoscyphus are presented from Greece. Hymenoscyphus serotinus is newly reported from Greece, whereas H. scutulus and H. virgultorum are reported for the second time. The formation of chlamydospores was observed in apothecia of H. scutulus. Descriptions, line drawings and microscopic photographs of all studied taxa are presented.

The smut fungi of Rhynchospora are revised. Twenty-eight species in seven genera are recognised and presented. Keys to the genera and species are given.

After a short revision of the genus Anthracoidea, two new species, A. multicaulis on C. geyeri and C. multicaulis, and A. praegracilis on C. praegracilis are described and illustrated.

The information on 59 species of smut fungi known in Israel is given. The genera represented in the country are Antherospora (1 sp.), Entyloma (19 spp.), Jamesdicksonia (1 sp.), Melanotaenium (1 sp.), Microbotryum (3 spp.), Sporisorium (14 spp.), Tilletia (3 spp.), Urocystis (4 spp.), Ustilago (12 spp.), and Vankya (1 sp.).

Synnemacrodictys stilboidea on Ailanthus altissima and Juniperus chinensis is recorded for the first time from Korea and Asia. Occurrence of Diplodia subtecta on Acer palmatum, Melanconis aucta on Alnus glutinosa, and Microbotryum stellariae on Stellaria graminea is reported from Bulgaria. Records of three larger basidiomycetes are given as new for Ukraine (Cantharellus amethysteus) and Bulgaria (Sarcodon joeides and Pluteus salicinus). A new Turkish record of a myxomycete, Physarum perfectum, is also presented.