Scientists frequently raise the topic of data deficiency related to the abundance and distribution of macrofungi in the context of climate change. Our study is the first detailed documentation on locals’ perception of fungal ecology which covers a large mycophilous region of Europe (Mazovia, Poland). A total of 695 semi-structured interviews were carried out among local informants in 38 localities proportionally distributed throughout the study area (one locality approximately every 30 km). Interview questions concerned fungi species collected, their perceived habitats, and whether any changes had been noted in their abundance. As many as 556 respondents provided information concerning fungal ecology. In these descriptions, 35 taxa were mentioned by at least 5 respondents. The data collected during interviews allowed us to create collective folk descriptions of habitat preferences and a list of 98 different macro-, meso-, and microhabitats of macrofungi described by the respondents. This list of recurring habitats assigned to particular macrofungal taxa coincides with, and sometimes exceeds, data available in scientific publications. Some habitat preferences observed by the informants have not yet been researched or tested by science. Out of 695 respondents, 366 (53%) noticed a steady decrease in local macrofungi abundance, and only one person claimed to have observed a steady increase. Imleria badia was the only species with increased abundance, as noted by fifteen independent respondents. The main listed reason for abundance decrease was drought (f = 186). Collected information on the ecology of fungi shows that local knowledge does not generally diverge from scientific knowledge. The acquired information related to macrofungal abundance and ecology may also be used as a tool for the formulation of new scientific questions and theories. The analysis of local fungi observations might contribute to broadening knowledge about local changes in fungi and enable new estimations related to large-scale analysis of macrofungal abundance.

中文翻译：

---

真菌民族生态学：观察到的栖息地偏好和波兰蘑菇采集者对真菌丰度变化的看法

在气候变化的背景下，科学家们经常提出与大型真菌的丰度和分布有关的数据不足的话题。我们的研究首次详细记录了当地人对真菌生态学的看法，该地区涵盖了欧洲一个大的真菌区（波兰马佐维亚）。在按比例分布在整个研究区域的 38 个地点（大约每 30 公里一个地点）的当地知情人中，共进行了 695 次半结构化访谈。采访问题涉及收集的真菌种类、它们感知的栖息地，以及它们的数量是否有任何变化。多达 556 名受访者提供了有关真菌生态学的信息。在这些描述中，至少有 5 位受访者提到了 35 个分类群。访谈期间收集的数据使我们能够创建对栖息地偏好的集体民间描述，以及由受访者描述的 98 种不同的大型真菌的宏观、中观和微观栖息地列表。分配给特定大型真菌类群的重复栖息地清单与科学出版物中的数据一致，有时甚至超过了这些数据。线人观察到的一些栖息地偏好尚未经过科学研究或测试。在 695 名受访者中，366 人 (53%) 注意到当地大型真菌丰度稳步下降，只有一个人声称观察到稳定增加。正如 15 位独立受访者所指出的，Imleriabadia 是唯一数量增加的物种。列出的丰度减少的主要原因是干旱（f = 186）。收集到的有关真菌生态学的信息表明，当地知识通常与科学知识没有区别。获得的与大型真菌丰度和生态相关的信息也可用作制定新科学问题和理论的工具。对当地真菌观察的分析可能有助于拓宽关于真菌局部变化的知识，并实现与大型真菌丰度的大规模分析相关的新估计。