THE NATIONAL RED LIST OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Giant puffball

Langermannia gigantea

Macedonian

Џиновска пуфка

Albanian

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

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Langermannia gigantea

Authority

(Batsch) Rostkovius

Synonyms

Bovista gigantea (Batsch) Gray

Calvatia gigantea (Batsch) Lloyd

Globaria gigantea (Batsch) Quél.

Lasiosphaera gigantea (Batsch) F. Šmarda

Lycoperdon giganteum Batsch

Assessment info

IUCN Red List Category and Criteria

LC – Least Concern

Date assessed

November 2020

Assessors

Tofilovska, S.

Reviewers

Kost, G.

Contributors

Karadelev, M.

Rusevska, K.

Jovanovski, T.

Facilitators

Miskovic, M.

Justification

Langermannia gigantea is a saprobe, producing large fruitbodies. It occurs in pastures and meadows, in open areas at edges of forests, as well as on abandoned arable lands and pastures. The known number of sites in the country is 60, broadly dispersed in 34 biogeographic regions. The probable total number of sites is guesstimated to be between 120-180 sites. The number of mature individuals is estimated at 2,400–3,600, and the population trend is stable. The species is assessed as Least Concern.

Population

Current population trend

Stable.

Description

The species is frequently reported from various types of habitats.

According to the instructions for estimation of mature individuals provided by Dahlberg and Mueller (2011), an estimate can be made of ca. 2,400–3,600, based on the probable total number of sites in the country (ca. 120–180), the estimated number of functional individuals at each locality (estimated to be two), and the template of how many mature individuals each reproducing genotype may give rise to (the template used ten). The population trend is stable since the species can thrive in various types of habitats.

Habitat and Ecology

System

Terrestrial.

Habitat and Ecology

This species is a saprobe, found in diverse types of habitats in the country, in pastures and meadows, in open areas at edges of forests, as well as on abandoned arable lands and pastures. Detailed studies on the species ecology have not indicated any preference for temperature; consequently, it is not regarded as a thermophilous species; it neither has a preference for soil pH. However, the species thrives only in nutrient rich soils with moderate humidity, and the vegetative mycelium is thought to be with perennial character (Gryndler et al. 2008, Sterry 2011). The species usually produces sporocarps from spring to autumn, in the form of fairy rings.

Langermannia gigantea has been established at 60 sites in the country, broadly dispersed in 34 biogeographic regions (Melovski et al. 2013), at elevation ranges between 350–2,000 m. Six of the known sites are located in national parks, as follows: Galicica – one site in the zone of active management, Mavrovo – four sites in the zone of sustainable use, and one in the zone of active management. The species is edible, prominent, so it has been searched for in the past, and it has been frequently reported. Nevertheless, since it can be found in various types of habitats that are rather common in the country, an estimation of probable sites was made (Dahlberg and Mueller 2011). The total number of sites is guesstimated to be by 2 to 3 times higher than the current number, resulting in a maximum of 180 sites.

Use and trade

Use and trade

It is an edible species producing large fruitbodies, 20 to 80 cm in diameter. It is collected by mushroom foragers but it is not traded by mushroom purveyors.

Threats

Threats

The species can be spotted in diverse types of habitats, which is the reason why maintenance of a stable population in the country is not threatened. Still, it should be stated that, according to the latest Biodiversity Action Plan (2018), some of the habitats, such as mesic and wet grasslands accompanied by alpine and subalpine grasslands, are noted to have moderate to high-intensity threat due to overgrowth, abandonment or succession.

Excessive, repeated foraging at known sites might pose another threat.

Conservation actions

Conservation actions

Conservation needed: Initiating proper measures for maintenance of the habitats under threat and education for sustainable foraging of this species.  

Research needed: Regular monitoring on an annual basis at the ascertained sites, especially in the habitats under threat. Field research at possible sites aimed at an in-depth exploration of the species distribution and dynamics of occurrence. There is a necessity of elaboration of a country’s habitat map.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Artsdatabanken, 2020. Langermannia gigantea. Norwegian red list for species 2020. Available at: https://www.artsdatabanken.no/taxon/Langermannia%20gigantea/60557.

Corriol, G. (Coord.). 2014. Liste rouge des champignons de Midi-Pyrénées. Conservatoire botanique national des Pyrénées et de Midi-Pyrénées, pp. 20.  Midi-Pyrénées, France.

Dahlberg, A. and Mueller, G.M. 2011. Applying IUCN red-listing criteria for assessing and reporting on the conservation status of fungal species. Fungal Ecology 4(2): 147-162. doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2010.11.001

Đug, S., Hasanbegović, A. and Drešković, N. 2013. Crvena lista gljiva Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine. Federalno ministarstvo okoliša i turizma, Sarajevo.

Friebes, G., Dämon, W., Michelitsch S., Pidlich-Aigner H. and Krisai-Greilhuber, I. 2017. Verzeichnis und Rote Liste der Großpilze der Steiermark (Österreich). Joannea Botanik 14: 29–112.

GBIF. 2020. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Collection of online herbarium specimens. Available at: http://data.gbif.org.

Gryndler, M., Borovička, J., Gryndlerová, H. and Gryndler, E. 2008. Fructification of Langermannia gigantea in artificially inoculated field soil. Czech Mycology 60(2): 231–242.

Hyvärinen, E., Juslén, A., Kemppainen, E., Uddström, A. and Liukko, U.M. 2019. The 2019 Red List of Finnish Species. Ympäristöministeriö and Suomen ympäristökeskus, pp. 704. Helsinki.

Index Fungorum Partnership. 2020. Index Fungorum. Available at: http://www.indexfungorum.org.

Laurent-Dargent, J. 2009. La liste rouge des champignons (macromycètes) rares ou menacés en Lorraine. Sciences pharmaceutiques. https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-01732739

Melovski, Lj., Markoski, B., Hristovski, S., Jovanovska, D., Anastasovski, V., Klincharov, S., Velevski, M., Velkovski, N., Trendafilov, A., Matevski, V., Kostadinovski, M., Karadelev, M., Levkov, Z. and Kolchakovski, D. 2013. Regional division of the Republic of Macedonia for the needs of biological databases. Macedonian journal of Ecology and Environment 15(2): 81-111.

Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. 2018. National biodiversity strategy and action plan: for the period 2018–2023. Support to the Republic of Macedonia for revision of national biodiversity strategy and action plan and development of the fifth national report to the convention on biodiversity. Ministry of environment and physical planning, Skopje. ISBN 978-9989-110-99-3

Moeslund, J.E., Nygaard, B., Ejrnæs, R., Bell, N., Bruun, L.D., Bygebjerg, R., Carl, H., Damgaard, J., Dylmer, E., Elmeros, M., Flensted, K., Fog, K., Goldberg, I., Gønget, H., Helsing, F., Holmen, M., Jørum, P., Lissner, J., Læssøe, T., Madsen, H.B., Misser, J., Møller, P.R., Nielsen, O.F., Olsen, K., Sterup, J., Søchting, U., Wiberg-Larsen, P. and Wind, P. 2019. Den danske Rødliste. Aarhus Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi. Available at: www.redlist.au.dk.

Sterry, P. 2011. Fungi of Britain and Northern Europe. Bounty Books, London.

Sugny, D., Beirnaert, P., Billot, A., Caillet, M. & M., Chevrolet, J.P., Galliot, L., Herbert, R. and Moyne, G. 2013. Liste rouge des champignons supérieurs de Franche-Comté. Publication commune Fédération Mycologique de l’Est, Conservatoire National Botanique de Franche-Comté et Société Botanique de Franche-Comté, pp. 114. LUNÉVILLE, imprimerie PARADIS.