SPECIAL PROJECTS
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Fungal Diversity Survey (2018 - Present)
NJMA continues to be a participant in this ongoing project - the Fungal Diversity Survey (FunDis, formerly known as the North American MycoFlora Project). NJMA joined in 2018, and as of 2021, FunDis has over 200 projects conducted by groups, such as NJMA, across North America.
Fungi specimens are collected, recorded, and DNA Analysis is performed on specimen samples taken. The dried specimens are placed in an approved herbarium such as NJMA's. The results of the DNA Analyses are made available to researchers across North American, and the world. |
Are North American species that look like a European species, really the same species or not? |
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Franklin Parker Preserve (2009 - Present)
In 2009, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation asked NJMA to conduct a research survey of the fungi in the Franklin Parker Preserve (FPP). FPP is located in Chatsworth, NJ, which is often referred to as the heart of the Pine Barrens. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation owns and manages FPP.
Fire is part of the Pine Barrens ecology. In March 2019, burns were conducted at the North Gate entrance and west of Chatsworth Lake. These areas were burned in a typical mosaic pattern with some areas burning very hot and others less so. The role of fire in the pine barrens has been studied from the point of view of the animals and plants but there is no mention of fungi (that we could find). NJMA has documentation of what fungi have been found where and at what time before the fires. Now we will be able to compare the same areas after fire. The New Jersey "Pinelands" encompasses most, but not all of the Pine Barrens ecosystem. For more information see the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. |
Bogbodia udna (peat brownie) which used to be called Hypholoma udum, and before that Psilocybe uda. Now it has its own genus. This sighting was noted in NJMA News 45-1.
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Rutgers Creek Wildlife Conservancy (2000 - 2005)
At the request of the Brandwein Institute, the New Jersey Mycological Association conducted a five year (2000-2005) fungal inventory of the Rutgers Creek Wildlife Conservancy (RCWC). Five forays were conducted each year. A RCWC species list was created from this inventory. The specimens from this collection effort are housed in the Brandwein Institute's Raymond M. Fatto Herbarium.
The Brandwein Institute manages the RCWC which is a 72-acre tract containing deciduous forest areas, brushy areas, hay fields, and the Rutgers Creek. |
NJMA members at Brandwein Institute in 2005
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Hutcheson Memorial Forest (1991 - 2002)
NJMA members Raymond Fatto and Dr. Eugene Varney, a plant Pathology professor at Rutgers Cook College, conducted fungi surveys for eleven years at the Rutgers's owned Hutcheson Memorial Forest. The Hutcheson Memorial Forest appears on the National Park Service Register of Natural Landmarks. It contains Mettler's Woods, the only uncut upland forest in New Jersey.
