• Proposed
  • Under Assessment
  • NTPreliminary Assessed
  • 4Assessed
  • 5Published

Ramaria boreimaxima Kytöv. & M. Toivonen

Search for another Species...

Scientific name
Ramaria boreimaxima
Author
Kytöv. & M. Toivonen
Common names
Rotfingersvamp
Tuhtihaarakas
Ziemeļu korallene
IUCN Specialist Group
Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Basidiomycota
Class
Agaricomycetes
Order
Gomphales
Family
Gomphaceae
Assessment status
Preliminary Assessed
Preliminary Category
NT A2ce+3ce+4ce
Proposed by
Anders Dahlberg
Assessors
Johan Nitare, Niclas Bergius
Contributors
Michael Krikorev
Comments etc.
Irja Saar, Tea von Bonsdorff, James Westrip, Inita Daniele
Reviewers
Anders Dahlberg

Assessment Notes

Justification

Ramaria boreimaxima is a conspicuous and easily recognizable mycorrhizal species with large fruitbodies associated with Scots Pine in old-growth forests on dry and sandy soils in northern Europe. The species is a representative and indicator species of old, dry, lichen-dominated sandy pine forests with a high conservation value, including a rich fungal biodiversity. The species is known from approx. 300 localities almost exclusively in Sweden, Finland and Norway. The real number of sites may be about three times higher.

The habitat of old dry pine forest of R. boreimaxima, outside protected areas, is quickly disappearing due to forestry; while fire suppression and nitrogen fertilisation of forests may be contributing to declines in habitat quality. The species does not appear to re-establish after clear-cutting. The overall population of R. boreimaxima is estimated to have declined, and this decline is expected to continue at a rate of about 25-29% over 50 years (three generations) due to clear-cutting forestry and habitat quality declines. Hence, R. boreimaxima is assessed as Near Threatened (NT) under the criteria A2ce+3ce+4ce.


Taxonomic notes

The name Ramaria magnipes, a species described in NW USA has earlier misapplied to this species by nordic authors. Now described as a new species: Ramaria boreimaxima Kytöv. & M.Toivonen (von Bonsdorff et al, 2014).


Why suggested for a Global Red List Assessment?

Mycorrhizal with pine forests on sandy soils. An eye-catching and easily recognizable mycorrhizal fungus with large and compact fruitbodies confined to old-growth pine forests on sandy soil. It is a good indicator of forests with high conservation values.The population is declining due to clear cutting of older Scots pine forests. During the last 50 years this habitat has decreased with more than 30 %.


Geographic range

Ramaria boreimaxima is a boreal European species with is main distribution in Sweden, Finland and southern Norway(GBIF 2024). There are a few records in Estonia and Latvia. It also reported from four regions in western Russia (Archangelsk Oblast,  Perm Kray; Republic of Karelia, Sverdlovskaya Oblast;  Shiryaev 2020).


Population and Trends

The large to very large eye-catching and easily identifiable sporocarps of R. boreimaxima, is well known and been much paid attention as an indicator for pine forest with high conservation values (Nitare 2023).  Ramaria boreimaxima is listed as VU in the national Red List of Sweden (SLU Artdatabanken 2020), as LC in Finland (Hyvärinen et al 2019) and is not yet assessed in Norway (Artsdatabanken 2021). Its is currently known from ca. 250 localities in Fennoscandia plus a few in Estonia and Russia (Tatiana Svetasheva, pers. com). The total number of sites, including unknown ones, is estimated to be about 1000, each with on average 3-5 genetically uniqe mycelia (genets). Each mycelia may on average correspond to approcx. 5 mature individuals (cf. Dahlberg and Muellar, 2011).

Mycorrhizal fungi in dry sandy pine forests are probably among the most threatened and declining fungal elements of Europe as this forest habitat has been severely declining due to clearcutting during the last centuary (Brandrud and Bendiksen 2014; Nitare 2023). In Fennoscandia, clear-cut caused habitat-loss of dry sandy old pine forests is estimated to be about 30% due during the last 50 years and the population decline of R. boreimaxima to be in the same range. As R. boreimaxima is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, the assessment period three generations is estimated to be 50 years (Dahlberg and Mueller, 2011). Data from the National Swedish Forest Inventory show that the number of pines older than 175 years has decreased by approx. 50% (since 1995), and is estimated to have decreased significantly more since 1970 (SLU artdatabanen 2020).

Population Trend: Decreasing


Habitat and Ecology

Ramaria boreimaxima forms ectomycorrhiza with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and grows in open, dry and often lichen-dominated sandy and nutrient poor old-growth pine forests, e.g. on glacifluvial deposits,often along the larger rivers and including esker-ridges (deposits made by subglacial rivers). Sometimes it is also found on sandy moraine.The vegetation is often dominated lichens, lingonberry and heather. Unlike many other coral fungi, R. boreimaxima is not associated with calcareous soil. It has not been recorded in younger, even-aged forests that has been clear-cut.

Boreal Forest

Threats

Ramaria boreomaxima is primarily threatened by clear-cutting of old-growth pine forests but also the last centuaries measures to prevent forest fires and potentially also by nitrogen fertilization of forests. The species appears more or less dependent on forest/tree/root continuity, and is one of the more ´sensitive sandy pine forest species to modern clear-cutting forestry.

Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]

Conservation Actions

To prevent decline and fragmentation of the old-growth sandy pine forests with natural dynamics, it is important to set aside Scots pine forest reserves, preferentially larger, continuous areas. In these forests, natural or prescribed burning should be considered to maintain desired forest dynamics. It may also be important to maintain disturbances such as (moderate) grazing, of e.g. raindeers providing small openings in the humus layer.

Site/area protectionSite/area management

Research needed

The life cycle and population dynamics, e.g. conditions required for mycelial establishment, mycelial longevites and genetic diversity of local populations should be investigated. Further investigations of old growth pine forests in Russia is needed to more accurately assess the global status trend of R. bereimaximas.

Population size, distribution & trendsLife history & ecology

Use and Trade

No commercial use or trade is known.

Other (free text)

Bibliography

Brandrud, T.E. and Bendiksen, E. 2014. Fungi of sandy pine forests in Norway, and a comparison of this threatened element elsewhere in Europe(-Asia). Agarica 35: 67-87.

Bendiksen K, Kytövuori I, Toivonen M, Bendiksen E and Brandrud T E. 2015. Ectomycorrhizal Ramaria species in nutrient-poor Fennoscandian conifer forests including a note on the Ramaria botrytis complex. Agarica 36:89-108.

Dahlberg, A. and Mueller, G. 2011. Applying IUCN red-listing criteria for assessing and reporting on the conservation status of fungal species. Fungal Ecology 4: 1-16.

GBIF Secretariat (2023). Ramaria boreimaxima Kytöv. & M.Toivonen in GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-11-17.

Kytövuori, I. & Toivonen, M. 2014: Species new to science, Ramaria boreimaxima (in english). In: von Bonsdorff, T., Kytövuori, I., Vauras, J., Huhtinen, S., Halme, P., Rämä, T., Kosonen L. & Jakobsson S. 2014: Sienet ja metsien luontoarvot. — Norrlinia 27: 239-240.

Nitare J. 2023. Skyddsvärd skog: naturvårdsarter och andra kriterier för naturvärdesbedömning (In Swedish: Protected forest: nature conservation species and other criteria for nature value assessment). 3rd ed. Skogsstyrelsen. Jönköping. ISBN 987-91-986297-0-5

Shiryaev A. G. 2020. Climate continentality increases the beta diversity of macrofungal communities // Botanica Pacifica: A Journal of Plant Science and Conservation 9(2): 73–81. https://doi.org/10.17581/bp.2020.09216

von Bonsdorff, T., Kytövuori, I., Vauras, J., Huhtinen, S., Halme, P., Rämä, T., Kosonen, L. & Jakobsson, S. 2014. Sienet ja metsien luontoarvot. Norrlinia vol. 27, pp. 272.

Shiryaev A. G. 2020. Climate continentality increases the beta diversity of macrofungal communities // Botanica Pacifica: A Journal of Plant Science and Conservation 9(2): 73–81. https://doi.org/10.17581/bp.2020.09216

 


Country occurrence

Regional Population and Trends

Country Trend Redlisted