Halimium Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Sardinia is a large island (24.100 km 2 , the 48 th largest in the world) placed in the middle of the Mediterranean basin. Home to extensive sclerophyllous forests and a range of other vegetation types, the island hosts thousands of... more

Sardinia is a large island (24.100 km 2 , the 48 th largest in the world) placed in the middle of the Mediterranean basin. Home to extensive sclerophyllous forests and a range of other vegetation types, the island hosts thousands of macrofungi, many of which are linked through ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis to trees, shrubs and herbs. Despite this rich diversity, however, our knowledge of Sardinian mycota is still superficial, as relatively few studies have been devoted to this topic. One of the reasons behind this lack of interest is probably the traditional mycophoby of Sardinian people, who until recently did collect and consume only a handful of wild edible mushrooms, and used a few more as medical remedies and for other purposes. This article provides a precise account of the current status of knowledge of Sardinia macrofungi, with a special focus on ECM species. We also report on the recent change of attitude of Sardinians towards mushrooms, with their sharp rise in popularity as food, but also as crucial ecological actors, and discuss relevant consequences.

Scleroderma is a gasteroid genus in the Boletales (Basidiomycota), with a cosmopolitan distribution. Species of Scleroderma establish ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis with a range of coniferous and non-coniferous trees and shrubs, both in... more

Scleroderma is a gasteroid genus in the Boletales (Basidiomycota), with a cosmopolitan distribution. Species of Scleroderma
establish ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis with a range of coniferous and non-coniferous trees and shrubs, both in temperate
and tropical regions, with little tendency to host specificity, a feature that might have facilitated the wide distribution of the genus.
With the contribution of confocal laser scanning microscopy, we describe the morpho-anatomical features of the ectomycorrhizae
formed by Scleroderma meridionale on Halimium halimifolium, a cistaceous plant belonging to a small group of woody shrubs
occurring in open vegetation types in the Mediterranean region. The mycobiont and host plant identity in ECM was verified
through molecular tools. Mycorrhizal system is very small, up to 1.9 mm, mostly coralloid to irregularly pinnate. The mantle
surface is felty, whitish with silver patches. Differentiated rhizomorphs occur infrequently. Mantle surface is characterized by a
network of branched hyphae organized in hyphal boundles. Hyphae are frequently covered by granules or warts. These characters,
except for the presence of granules, are similar to those reported for the only two naturally-occurring Scleroderma ECM
described so far, i.e. S. bovista on Populus and S. citrinum on Betula and Pinus. On the other side, the peculiarity of
S. meridionale + Halimium ECMis the particularly small dimension of mycorrhizal system, a character shared with ECMformed
by Cistaceae. At the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of an ectomycorrhiza on Halimium, a plant whose
mycorrhizal biology deserves to be explored in greater detail.

Fire Trol 934® is a long-term fire retardant commonly used in fire prevention and extinction. Our objective was to determine the effect of this chemical on seed germination of nine plant species from Mediterranean-type shrublands, where... more

Fire Trol 934® is a long-term fire retardant commonly used in fire prevention and extinction. Our objective was to determine the effect of this chemical on seed germination of nine plant species from Mediterranean-type shrublands, where these chemicals are potentially used. Seeds were exposed to five different Fire Trol concentrations, (0 (control) to 10%, on a log scale) and monitored in a germination chamber for nine weeks. Seeds from four Cistus species were subjected to an additional heat treatment that simulated thermal scarification caused by fire. Retardant exposure caused a significant decrease in total germination in all species, and exposure to the highest Fire Trol concentration (10%) resulted in complete inhibition of germination. However, the sensitivity to Fire Trol varied across species and this differential species sensitivity may potentially lead to different impacts in the soil seed banks depending on whether sites are burned or unburned. Exposure to Fire Trol 934 may affect recruitment of shrubland species particularly during dry autumns, due to limited leaching of these chemicals from the soil surface. Consequently, its use should be avoided in sites where particularly sensitive plant species are present. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 543–548, 2005.