Introduction

The following information was based on recommendations made by an invited international group of mycologists that participated in a workshop / planning session held near INBio in April 21-24, 1998. The proposed protocols presented here are modified from the report of that group. These modifications were developed during discussions among the instructors of the Advanced Course on Fungi for Parataxonomists held 11-30 January 1999; and a Follow up Workshop held November 1-4, 1999.

Fungi are vital components of all ecosystems. They are intimately associated with such crucial processes as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and nutrient transport. Some species are important plant and animal pathogens, while others form obligate mutualistic symbioses with plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and animals. Species of fungi are also of great economic importance. Many have been domesticated for use in the brewing, baking, industrial fermentation, pharmaceutical, and biotechnical industries. Others are cultivated or collected to be used as food. As pointed out in the book edited by Palm and Chapela (1998) “Mycology in Sustainable Development,” fungi play an essential role in enabling and attaining sustainable development. At the same time, fungi cause many millions of dollars of damage each year due to food spoilage, destruction of materials used by humans, and diseases of plants and animals, including humans. Thus, it is essential to include fungi in the Costa Rican National Inventory of biodiversity.

There are several significant challenges to undertaking a large scale inventory of fungi. These must be considered when designing the National Inventory of Costa Rican Fungi. (1) As traditionally treated, fungi encompass taxa in three Kingdoms, Fungi, Chromista (water molds), and Protista (slime molds and relatives). Kingdom Fungi encompasses a great diversity of organisms from single-celled aquatic species in the Chytridiomycota to large mushrooms in the Basidiomycota. (2) Current estimates place the Fungi as the second most diverse lineage of Eukaryotes, after the insects, with approximately 1.5 million species. As only around 100,000 species have been well characterized, or approximately 5% of the estimated diversity, Fungi are the least known group of Eukaryotes. (3) This diversity is distributed among groups that have very different life histories and require very different sampling techniques to collect and identify. For example, distinct protocols are necessary for sampling each of the following groups: single-celled aquatic species, other aquatic fungi, soil associate species, obligate root mutualists, endophytes, plant pathogens, lichens, wood inhabiting Ascomycetes, and macrofungi. And (4), there are a critical lack of taxonomic specialists and taxonomic resources, especially for tropical taxa. Therefore, it is not possible to treat all groups of fungi in the current inventory. To meet these challenges, several workshops and meetings have been held in Costa Rica to develop the necessary protocols and plans for the Fungi Inventory.