THE NATIONAL RED LIST OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Juniper pocket rot

Pyrofomes demidoffii

Macedonian

Фоин трат

Albanian

/

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Taxonomy
Assessment info
Population
Habitat and Ecology
Threats
Use and Trade
Conservation Actions
Bibliography

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Pyrofomes demidoffii

Authority

(Lév.) Kotl. & Pouzar

Synonyms

Polyporus demidoffii Lév.

Assessment info

IUCN Red List Category and Criteria

Vulnerable B1ab(iii,iv)+2ab(iii,iv); D1

Date assessed

November 2020

Assessors

Karadelev, M.

Reviewers

Kost, G.

Ivančević, B.

Contributors

Tofilovska, S.

Rusevska, K.

Facilitators

Miskovic, M.

Justification

The species is known from eight (8) localities, three of which are located on the territory of NP Galichica. The
number of registered individuals is about 300, while the total number of mature individuals (including those
that are extant but not yet recorded) is not expected to reach 1,000, therefore this is treated as a very small
population. The other sites are not protected and the habitats are under intense anthropogenic pressure. It is
best seen in Greek juniper forest close to the Chalakli village. This is a threatened area since there is mass
exploitation of juniper trees by the inhabitants. Fires during summer season pose another serious threat.

Population

Current population trend

Decreasing

Description

Pyrofomes demmidoffii is a rare species, present with different abundance at almost all localities where the host occurs (the Grecian juniper). The population in the country has been estimated at approximately 300 specimens i.e. about 300 infected trees. It is most common in the well-developed Grecian juniper communities where there are old trunks. The highest number of specimens has been observed on the old Grecian juniper trunks in the vicinity of Kozhle village, where approximately 150 specimens have been recorded, while on the other sites, such as the surroundings of Chalakli village and Golem Grad island, about 50 specimens each have been registered.

Habitat and Ecology

System

3 Shrubland
3.8 Shrubland – Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation

Habitat and Ecology

A parasitic species on various Juniper spp. in East Africa and North America. It is known from Caucasus, Uzbekistan, Siberia, Crimea and Turkey mostly on Juniperus spp. In the Balkan Peninsula, Pyrofomes demidoffii has been collected only from Greek juniper (J. excelsa). This species is rare in all the known areas of Greek juniper in N. Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria. It is a parasite on old trunks and it causes substantial damage in Juniper communities. In N. Macedonia the species has been spotted on rotten wood of Grecian juniper at an altitude between 120 and 1,200 m. Grecian juniper forests are regarded as a priority habitat in the Habitats Directive specified as: *Endemic forests with Juniperus spp. – Pal. 42.A3 – Grecian juniper woods (Juniperetum excelsae) – forest formations dominated by Juniperus excelsa. The forest consists of pure J. excelsa or mixed with different oak trees (Quercus coccifera, Q. trojana, Q. pubescens) or in some areas with Juniperus foetidissima.

Use and trade

Use and trade

There is no confirmed use and trade of this species in N. Macedonia.

Threats

Threats

The impact is manifested by host habitat loss and/or degradation given that the species is strictly bound to a single host. Immediate impact upon the species has not been established. The threat manifests differently and it depends on the community site. It is minor in the protected localities within Galichica NP while it is major in the surroundings of Chalakli vill. Chalakli village near Valandovo is an endangered area since there is mass exploitation of juniper trees by the local inhabitants. They also burn branches for production of burnt lime. For all habitats: fires during summer period could be treated as another severe threat.
Intensive agriculture is a minor threat to biodiversity in juniper forests in the area of concern. Sheep and goat grazing of low vegetation and young trees is also a threat worth highlighting.

Conservation actions

Conservation actions

Protection of old host trees is the key conservation action pivotal to protect this species; study of the population numbers and range; interpretation of species status through enhanced understanding of the species biology and ecology; conservation of the habitat; study of the trends through monitoring.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Denchev C. & Assyov B. 2010. Checklist of the Larger Basidiomycetes in Bulgaria. . Mycotaxon 111: 279-282.

Dogan H.H. & Karadelev M., 2006. Ecology and distribution of two parasitic fungal species (Pyrofomes demidoffii and Antrodia juniperina) on scale-leaf juniper trees in Turkey. Cryptogamie Mycologie 27 27((1):): 35-43.

Gyosheva M. 2006. Red List of fungi in Bulgaria. Mycologia Balcanica 3: 81–87.

Josef Vlasák Jr., Patrick G. Harvey, Patrick R. Leacock, and Viacheslav Spirin. 2018.

Pyrofomes juniperinus, comb. nova, the North American Sibling of P. demidoffii (Polyporales, Basidiomycota), . Annales Botanici Fennici 55(1–3): 1-6.

Karadelev M. 1998. Fungal biodiversity in Macedonia I. with a special regard to substrates with a disjunctive range and relict origin. Mycologia Montenegrina, I-n: 49- 55.
Niemelä, T. & Ryvarden, L. 1975. Studies in the aphyllophorales of africa IV: Antrodia
juniperina, new for east Africa. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 65(3):
427-432.