The initial step
in dealing with diversity issues is to determine the species
present in a particular area and to obtain baseline quantitative
population data. To achieve this, accurate, analytical
systems for qualitative and quantitative sampling
of the diversity must be in place.
Historically, determining the species diversity of fungi
in an ecosystem has been complicated by our inability
to culture many fungi, the ephemeral nature of sporocarp
production, and intraspecific variation in fungal
morphology and biochemistry (Barrett 1987). As a
result, the number of fungal species and the biochemical
functions that can be attributed to them have been
difficult to establish. To determine the significance of the
species and genetic diversities of fungi adequately and to
assign functional importance to specific fungi require
increased understanding of several aspects of fungal
biology