KLIMAFORSK-Stort program klima

Climate change is globally the most extensive and the fastest process of environmental change, affecting all species and their habitats. ClimFun will study the effects of climate change on fungi in four interrelated work packages (WPs) dealing with change s in: (1) distributional ranges of fungi, (2) substrate range, (3) fruit body production and (4) phenology. In WP1, we will use an extensive dataset, including more than 1.6 mill records, to determine if systematic shifts in species ranges during the past 60 years have taken place in the UK and the extent to which these shifts can be related to climate change. We will also evaluate whether habitat destruction and fragmentation will limit the species ability to move into new areas. In WP2 we will, using bo th observational and experimental data, analyze whether fungi are shifting their host ranges as a response to climate change. In WP3, unique fruit body count datasets from Spain and Switzerland will be used to analyze variations in fruit body production a nd how this relates to climatic change and forest productivity. To quantify the changes in climate, we will use not only climatic data but also dendrochronological tree-ring investigations. In WP4, changes in temporal fruiting patterns of a subset of inte nsively sampled mycorrhizal species in different European countries will be related to climatic variables and dendrochronological tree-ring data to reveal how climate and the host plants influence the changes in fruiting time. More than 2.8 mill digitized fungal field records, the worldwide largest collection of dated fungal records, are available for the analyses. Advanced statistical analyses will be implemented in all WPs to assess the effects of climate change on fungi. The four WPs are closely interr elated and combined will substantially increase our understanding of the effects of climate change on fungi and whether habitat destruction and fragmentation limits the species chances for moving into new areas.