This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: During some days in August, science takes center stage. The experts are surveying the little-known diversity of fungi found in the alpine Dryas heath.
They may even discover species that have never been described scientifically before. Project leader Tor Erik Brandrud from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) examines the fungi with great enthusiasm. He has spent a lifetime studying fungi and is well known in the international mycological community.
"Within just a few days, we have found more than 120 different fungal species here in Láhko. I am fairly certain that some of them have never been recorded in Norway before," says Brandrud. "I could never have dreamed that we would find this many," agrees NIBIO researcher Thomas Holm Carlsen.
Carlsen has worked with species and habitat surveys for more than 20 years. When he began specializing in fungi a few years ago, he discovered that the NIBIO station at Tjøtta was just a stone's throw from areas harboring an almost completely unexplored fungal diversity. Before long, he also found fungi that turned out to be new to science.
Curiosity about what lies hidden in poorly surveyed mountain areas led Carlsen to Láhko National Park. The park is home to Northern Europe's largest marble plateau and extensive Dryas heath. For this treasure hunt, he brought along his mentor and fungal guru, Brandrud.
The researchers emphasize that it is important to document these species before it is too late. Many of the fungi found in the mountains live in close association with plants. The Dryas milkcap (Lactarius dryadophilus), for example, forms mycorrhizal associations with mountain avens (Dryas octopetala).
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