Unique species support programme shows first signs of success

It’s a small sensation. Although these delicate fungal fruiting bodies belong right here in the heart of the forest, they didn’t arrive on this research plot naturally. A pioneering project made the coral-like formations of the Coral Tooth Fungus possible at this location in the Bavarian Forest National Park. The mycelium – the fine fungal threads – was cultivated in the laboratory. One year after inoculating the logs, the first successes are now visible.

Last year, the Chair of Fungal Ecology at the University of Bayreuth and the Bavarian Forest National Park launched this special species support programme. Thanks to DBU funding of around €350,000, scientists inoculated logs at several experimental sites within the management zone of Germany’s oldest national park in July 2024 – a unique undertaking nationwide. A total of ten fungal species were introduced into beech, spruce, and fir wood using wooden dowels. The inoculated deadwood logs are now beginning to produce their first fruiting bodies.

The first visible success is thanks to the Coral Tooth Fungus. This Red List species typically grows on dead beech wood and is rare in Germany. The other species involved in the project are also native to the Bavarian Forest but have been pushed back primarily due to intensive forestry. “Unlike animals and plants, there is very little experience in how to effectively protect fungal populations from extinction in our regions,” explains project leader Professor Claus Bässler from the University of Bayreuth. “That’s why I’m especially pleased that our pilot field trials are now producing their first fruiting bodies in nature.”

According to DBU officer Dr. Hans-Christian Schaefer, fungi have so far received little attention in conservation efforts despite their central role in many ecosystems. The DBU-funded project, he says, could demonstrate ways “to strengthen populations of less mobile and specialised species in particular.” Schaefer adds: “Reintroduction can be a powerful conservation tool, especially in restored habitats.”

However, before fungi can be successfully reintroduced into nature, extensive preliminary work in the lab is required, emphasises Dr. Franziska Zahn, who oversees the project at the Chair of Fungal Ecology: “First, we need to cultivate the fungi we’ve collected from suitable habitats on nutrient media – which can be quite challenging.” Further investigations are now planned one year after inoculation to determine how the fungi have spread.

Even though only fruiting bodies of one species are currently visible, other species may also have colonised the wood. To find out, core samples are being taken from all 320 inoculated logs and analysed in the lab. Only after these analyses will it be clear which fungal species have successfully established themselves in the inoculated wood.

“I’m confident that more species will produce fruiting bodies over the course of this season and in the coming years,” says National Park mycologist Peter Karasch. “I’m especially hopeful for the Fragrant Polypore, a species whose widespread fruiting bodies smell of roses and which has only been recorded in one primeval forest area here in the National Park.” To document further developments, the 20 project sites in the National Park’s management zones near Bayerisch Eisenstein and Spiegelau will be regularly monitored over the coming years.

“Even now, the project is a groundbreaking success,” says National Park Director Ursula Schuster. “It once again shows that our research, thanks to valuable international collaborations, operates at a high level and provides important impulses for science.” From a conservation perspective, the project also offers promising approaches. “It may give us the tools we need to effectively support highly endangered fungal species.”