Mapping the landscape of mycological organizations in Europe: where citizen science meets professional mycology.

Fungi have been used by humans since prehistoric times. Informal structures or groups for knowledge exchange regarding mushrooms and lichens probably existed for ages. Only recently, mycological activities have been structured in formal organizations. And where until a few centuries ago there were only learned societies and naturalists’ clubs, nowadays also mycological societies and citizen scientists have joined the landscape. However, the history of mycological organizations and activities in Europe is difficult to track. Here, we initiated two surveys to characterize the current landscape of mycological organizations focused on fungal diversity across Europe and to collate citizen science activities mapping fungi. The surveys were shared on social media and sent to mycologists in 49 countries in Europe. Responses of the surveys allowed us to present the history, geographical distribution, and structure of mycological organizations in Europe as well as their types of activities, including the publication of journals and magazines, the organization of meetings and educational initiatives, and citizen science projects. In addition to the surveys, local mycologists presented expert knowledge for a more comprehensive overview. Our data show that the mycological landscape in Europe is diverse and heterogeneous. We discuss ways to overcome economic, cultural, and linguistic barriers towards better integration of mycological communities, activities, and data in Europe. Mycological societies focused on studying fungal diversity can be leveraged towards common goals that include raising public awareness, data integration, uniting academics and non-academics, and developing common standards for research and communication.

Project(s)

Priority 4: Accelerated Taxonomy

Funder

Funder name	Awards
CzechELib Transformative Agreement	Open Access Publishing
Biodiversa+, France	“FunDive: Monitoring and mapping fungal diversity for nature conservation“ project under the 2022–2023 BioDivMon joint call
European Commission, European Union	Grant agreement No. 2128-00020A - Biodiversa2022-640
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Belgium
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, Czechia	Biodiversity Partnership Programme, Call 2022
Innovationsfonden, Denmark
Eesti Teadusagentuur, Estonia	Grant PRG87 - Grant PRG1170
Ministry of Climate, Republic of Estonia
Research Council of Finland, Finland
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany
Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt, Germany
General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, Greece
National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary	FK-143061
Ministero dell’Università, Italy
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Netherlands
Norges Forskningsråd, Norway
Narodowym Centrum Nauki, Poland	Grant 2023/05/Y/NZ9/00106
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal	Project UIDB/04004/2020
Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain	Grant no. PCI2023-146021-2 - Grant no. PID2022-139558OB-I00
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Switzerland
Akademie Věd České Republiky, Czechia	Lumina Quaeruntur Fellowship (LQ200962501)
Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain	Serra-Húnter fellowship
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain	Grant no. PCI2023-146021-2 - Grant no. PID2022-139558OB-I00
European Regional Development Fund, European Union	ERDF A way of making Europe
Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Hungary	János Bolyai Research Scholarship
Ministerstvo Kultury České Republik, Czechia	DKRVO 2024–2028/3.I.b, 00023272
Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, Czechia	Institutional Support for Science and Research