Abstract
Several beech woods in the Province of Savona (Liguria, Italy) were mycocoenologically investigated over a period of 5 years, during which time 392 macrofungal species were observed. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis from several points of view. Fungal biodiversity was estimated by using two different formulas (proposed by Shannon and Brillouin). Results yielded fairly similar results, and highlighted significant levels of biodiversity in all the areas investigated. The relevant mycodiversity was also compared with that of other European beech woods based on maximum potential biodiversity (MPB), and revealed that the biodiversity of the investigated zones is fairly similar to that of the richest (i.e., with the greatest variety of species) areas considered by other mycologists.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Giuseppina Barberis warmly for her precious suggestions regarding the phytosociological aspects of the investigated areas.