In the Cairngorms, two species of fungi that were previously unknown to science and new to the United Kingdom have been discovered.
Amanita groenlandica is a species native to the Arctic, whereas Acrodontium Antarcticum was discovered on the opposite side of the globe, in Antarctica.
The previously unknown species discovered belongs to the genus Squamanita.
Included in this group is a rare parasitic fungus known as the strangler due to its capacity to consume other fungi.
Other discoveries on two mountains included a violet coral fungus in alpine grasslands. This is one of the rarest grassland fungi in the United Kingdom.
Arctic-alpine species inhabit the Cairngorms due to their icy environment and climate.
The discoveries were made possible by the collection of over 200 soil samples last summer by 73 volunteers.
The study was led by the conservation organization Plantlife and the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen.
In the Cairngorms National Park, hillwalkers gathered soil samples from 55 Munros or mountains more than 914.4m (3,000ft) in height.
Scientists at the James Hutton Institute collected DNA from the soil and sequenced it.
This resulted in almost 17,000 recordings of 2,748 species of fungi.
Keilidh Ewan of Plantlife stated that the initiative provided unique insights into wildlife in mountainous regions.
She stated, “The collaboration of researchers, environmentalists, and members of the local community has led to the discovery of some wild and amazing species and the establishment of evidence-based benchmarks for future monitoring of the consequences of climatic and environmental change.
This is helping us understand the challenges affecting this sensitive habitat, and the more we understand, the better we can conserve these treasured locations for the future.
Ecologist at the James Hutton Institute Andrea Britton added: “Fungi are crucial to the functioning of our alpine ecosystems, but we know very little about their distribution and diversity in this iconic habitat because they are mostly buried underground and alpine ecosystems are remote and difficult to access.
“Thanks to the hard work of volunteers and scientists working together, the data from this study will considerably increase our understanding of this critical group and may be used to begin determining which habitats and locations are particularly important for the conservation of fungal variety.”
The Cairngorms National Park encompasses portions of the Scottish counties of Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, and Angus.
Based on the overall number of species discovered on each Munro sampled by the research, Beinn a’Bhuird has the most species, with 359, followed by Beinn Mheadhoin with 358 and Cairngorm with 352.
However, there have been cautions that climate change poses a threat to the arctic-alpine fungus and plant life of Scotland.
Researchers from the University of Stirling discovered that species were withdrawing further up the Ben Lawers range to the north of Loch Tay.
