Citizens for Fungi Diversity

The Citizens for Fungi Diversity project proceeded with a MycoBlitz and Workshop held in Szálka. In this open, free event, we documented the macrofungi diversity of the surrounding area. Despite the hardly optimal timing at the end of November, we have found almost two hundred species. The workshop topics were aligned to support citizen scientists providing high-quality occurrence data—a guide on taking convincing and aesthetic photos of fruiting bodies, using taxonomic databases, and identification keys. Citizen science is open and has scientific, social, and personal benefits. The post-processing of the assessment data continues with microscopy, exsiccating samples, and resolving taxonomic questions. Our open, free move provided open-access data with the contribution of several dozen members from the iNaturalist community, which we are grateful for. 

We are in the sixth mass extinction, where animal and plant species are going extinct at an alarming  rate. Certainly, fungi are no exception, but shockingly little knowledge is available. In the IUCN Red  list, there are two orders of magnitude less fungi than animals or plants. The conservation status is not evaluated, and the extinction risk of the species of the second-largest kingdom of life is unknown. 

According to IUCN, it is an under-researched and under-financed field. As a research officer of a conservation NGO, I would like to present a running project that aims to build infrastructure supporting citizen science activity of fungi diversity assessment.