Trichia varia (Pers. ex J.F. Gmel.) Pers.

Trichia varia (Pers. ex J.F. Gmel.) Pers. View in CoL

Loc. 7, on wood of Populus stump, GE 362.

Myxomycete development was detected in 617 of 1076 materials (53.35%) collected from six districts of Karaman Province, and 87 myxomycete taxa were identified.Seven species were identified as abundant (A), 8 species as common (C), 14 species as occasional (O), and 58 species as rare (R) ( Table 2). P. depressa was the most prevalent species. This species was observed on 124 different materials, making it the most frequently detected species with a rate of 20.1%. Following this, C. didermoides was detected with 67 occurrences (10.86%), D. annulisporum with 57 occurrences (9.24%), E. minutum with 23 occurrences (3.73%), and M. cornea with 21 occurrences (3.40%). These species, along with P. depressa , emerged as the most dominant (Abundant - A) species in the study ( Table 2). In this study and in my previous studies, I observed that P. depressa appeared on the substrates in the third month after materials were moistened. It exhibited no substrate preference, developing even on the filter paper inside the moist chamber and on the inner walls of the container (personal observation).

The diversity analysis revealed that the Shannon diversity index (H′) was 3.42, indicating a moderately high species diversity. However, the Simpson diversity index (1-D) was 0.07, which, if (1-D) represents a diversity index where higher values indicate more diversity, would imply low diversity and an uneven species distribution. The maximum Shannon diversity index (H_max) was 4.47, and the Evenness index (J′) was calculated as 0.765, suggesting that species were fairly evenly distributed across the dataset. A comparison of the Shannon diversity index with the maximum Shannon diversity index indicates high ecosystem diversity, though individuals are not entirely evenly distributed. The Simpson dominance index of 0.93 suggests the presence of dominant species within the ecosystem, accompanied by relatively low diversity. The Jaccard Similarity Index value of 0.99 and the Sørensen’s Coefficient of Community Index value of 0.99 appear to be similar. It can be said that seasonal changes in the ecosystem do not have a major effect on species composition. The S/G ratio was determined to be 3.48.

When the family distributions of the 617 myxomycete individuals is examined, Trichiaceae ranks first in terms of number of individuals, with 177 recorded. It is followed by Physaraceae (121), Didymiaceae (96), Stemonitidaeae (91), Arcyriaceae (31), Liceaceae (31), Cribrariaceae (28), Echinosteliaceae (23), Hemitrichiaceae (12), while Clastodermataceae has only 7 individuals. In contrast, Physaraceae ranks first in terms of species richness, with 24 taxa. Stemonitidaceae follows with 23 species, followed by Didymiaceae (9), Cribrariaceae (7), Trichiaceae (7), Arcyriaceae (6), Liceaceae (5), and Hemitrichiaceae (4). Clastodermataceae and Echinosteliaceae are represented by only a single species each. When we evaluated the substrate on which the 617 individuals developed, it was seen that 421 species developed on bark, 133 on wood, 50 on branches, 6 on roots, 4 on cones and 3 on leaves.

The most species-rich substrate was Pinus sp. , which includes two species, P. brutia and P. nigra . A total of 53 species and 154 individuals were identified on Pinus sp. substrates. Among them, 23 species and 39 individuals developed on P. brutia , while 41 species and 115 individuals developed on P. nigra . Juniperus was the second dominant substrate with 29 species and 141 individuals. When evaluated separately, 16 species and 56 individuals were identified on J. excelsa , 15 species and 26 individuals on J. oxycedrus , and 19 species and 59 individuals on Juniperus sp. On Populus 24 species and 73 individuals developed, on plant debris of unidentified origin 31 species and 66 individuals, Salix 23 species and 56 individuals, Juglans 12 species and 25 individuals, and Quercus with 15 species and 23 individuals. Substrates with fewer than 15 individuals are grouped as “other” in Table 2. However, this category can be broken down as follows: Juglans 12 species and 25 individuals, Pyrus 9 species and 16 individuals, Picea 9 species and 13 individuals, Platanus 8 species and 12 individuals, Malus sp. 7 species and 10 individuals, Prunus 7 species and 8 individuals, Vitis 7 species and 7 individuals, Astragalus 4 species and 5 individuals, Robinia , 2 species and 2 individuals, Morus 2 species and 2 individuals, Acacia 2 species and 2 individuals, Acer 1 species and 1 individual, Cedrus 1 species and 1 individual, Crataegus 1 species and 1 individual, Olea 1 species and 1 individual.