This project focuses on mapping biodiversity of fungi and creating new tools to enable this. Fungi constitute one of the largest groups of organisms on earth with central importance for ecosystem functioning. Despite their relevance, they have been neglected in conservation and monitoring, implying a wide knowledge gap. This project has an overarching goal of closing this gap, by bringing fungi firmly on the biodiversity map. It will use existing citizen science data to explore changes in fungal communities. It will develop and test new tools for fungal biodiversity mapping and monitoring, combining citizen science and standardized sampling of DNA from the environment (eDNA). An important objective is building a DNA reference library that ties existing names to DNA-based fungal observations by sequencing so-called type specimens. The project involves 26 partners, academic organizations, mycological societies and a company, from 16 countries in South, Cental and North Europe.

2024

2026