A Survey of Fungi and Fungus-like Organisms at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, a Globally Rare Inland Pine Barren System

Aimée T. Hudon^1,* and Thomas R. Horton¹

¹Department of Environmental Forestry and Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13203. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Issue 1 (2024): 72–91

First published early online: 12 March 2024

Abstract
The Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP) in east-central New York is a fire-managed, globally rare inland pine barrens ecosystem supporting numerous rare or declining species. The open landscape of the APBP is comprised of Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine) with an understory dominated by Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak). Urban development and fire suppression have negatively impacted fire-adapted species. Prescribed fires were introduced in 1990 to restore the native plant community. Here we present the first thorough fungal survey at the APBP. We identified samples by morphology and DNA barcoding. We collected 117 species representing genera from 52 non-lichenized fungi, 10 lichens, and 2 Myxogastria (formerly Myxomycetes).

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