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Worldwide Mexico is second place on edible mushroom biocultural heritage, after China. Also, Mexico is a diversification center of Pinus and Quercus and other important ectomycorrhizal hosts. In order to develop a sustainable management of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms we must understand their role in ectomycorrhizal plant communities as these sustain the production of their fruit bodies. In this chapter we explore the diversity and structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) communities associated with the main forest ecosystems of the Mexican Neotropics, with particular emphasis on edible species. Thus, we performed extensive and opportunistic sampling of fruit bodies, as well as a systematic sampling of ectomycorrhizae in the temperate forests of Pinus, Abies, Quercus, Alnus and in a tropical dry forest. Samples were genetically characterized by nrDNA ITS sequences. We used DNA sequences, clustered at 97% similarity, both to determine species richness and abundance. We found 693 species of EMF when considering fruit bodies and mycorrhizae. The Chao 1 estimator indicates a potential richness of 2611 species. Few edible species are abundant as mycorrhizas, whereas as fruit bodies, Amanita rubescens s.l., Helvella cf. lacunosa, Laccaria laccata s.l., L. trichodermophora, L. vinaceobrunnea, and Suillus pseudobrevipes are abundant and widely distributed. The richest genera were Tomentella (77 species), Inocybe (57), Russula (54), Sebacina (47), Ramaria (30), Amanita (23), Thelephora (21), Lactarius (19), and Clavulina (16). The ecosystems with the greatest richness were pine-oak forests with 206 species, followed by oak forests with 153, and Abies forests with 83. The potential endemism level of EMF in the Mexican Neotropics is approximately 70%. |
