Assessment of pleurotoid mushrooms (Agaricales) diversity in community forests across Thailand

Abstract

Pleurotoid mushrooms are widely recognized for their edibility; however, their diversity is underrepresented in Thailand. This highlights the need for a fundamental understanding of the distribution, diversity, and morphological characteristics of pleurotoid mushrooms to address the challenges related to their identification and utilization. From 2019 to 2023, we conducted a survey and diversity analysis of pleurotoid mushrooms across 19 community forests in eight provinces. A total of 650 collections were made during the rainy seasons, with 250 specimens identified as belonging to 70 species from 13 genera and 10 families. The most diverse species identified were Hohenbuehelia tristis (H' of 2.33), Schizophyllum commune (H' of 2.20), Hohenbeuhelia sp. 3 (H' of 2.10), Campanella sp. 1 (H' of 1.94), and Crepidotus sp. 10 (H' of 1.94). The sites with the highest species diversity were Pa Deng village (H' of 3.34), Pox Kaeo village (H' of 3.05), Huay Kaeo village (H' of 2.91), Tha Pha village (H' of 2.73), Pa Ngae village (H' of 2. 68). The most frequently occurrence species were Hohenbuehelia tristis (10.44%), Crepidotus sp. 10 (5.62%), Crepidotus sp. 15 (5.22%), Campanella sp. 1 (4.41%), and Crepidotus thailandicus (4.01%). The family Pleurotaceae exhibited the highest diversity, represented by the genera Hohenbueheria, Pleurotus, and Resupinatus. The most species-rich genus was Crepidotus (30 species), followed by Hohenbuehelia (8 species), Pleurotus (7 species), Panus (6 species), and Clitopilus (4 species). This study contributes to a deeper understanding of pleurotoid mushrooms in Thailand and may support sustainable resource use and safe utilization of local fungal biodiversity by community members.