Introduction

During the 9th Congress of European Mycologists in Oslo, 1985, quantitative data were presented for the first time on changes in the mycota, in particular in The Netherlands (Arnolds, 1988). These data supported the fears of many mycologists and naturalists, namely that macrofungi were decreasing, at least some species in some areas. This information was the motive for the establishment of the European Committee for Protection of Fungi, which later changed its name into the European Council for Conservation of Fungi (ECCF). In this chapter I will review the developments in fungus conservation in Europe during the past 15 years and look forward towards challenges in the future. I restrict myself to macrofungi since microfungi are rarely considered in relation to conservation (but see Chapter 17).

Effective conservation of fungi depends on the compilation and integration of data from different disciplines, here summarised in the scheme shown in Fig. 4.1. Central in this scheme are Red Data lists because they reflect our knowledge on the status of fungal species and are meant as a basis for measurements and to present our conclusions to a wider audience. Obviously, progress in conservation depends on progress in other mycological disciplines, such as taxonomy, distribution and ecology. Therefore I shall pay some attention to these disciplines as well.