BOTANICA LITHUANICA 2011, 17(2–3): 135–136

Botanica Lithuanica 2011, 17(2–3): 135–136
CHRONICLE
18th symposium of the baltic mycologists and lichenologists
19–23 September 2011, Dubingiai, Lithuania
A traditional Symposium of the Baltic Mycologists
and Lichenologists was organized by the Nature
Research Centre, Department of Botany and Genetics
of Vilnius University and Lithuanian Mycological
Society. The event took place in a serene corner of
Asveja Regional Park, on the shore of Lake Asveja.
The participants were not only from the Baltic States:
60 mycologists and lichenologists came from Belarus,
Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
Lichenologists especially actively attended the 18th
Symposium, because for the first time it was held
together with the Nordic Lichen Society meeting.
Scientific program of the Symposium covered
various subjects and held a number of interesting and
noteworthy presentations. Oral presentations were
divided into two sections: Lichenology and Mycology.
Taxonomical problems were discussed in the following
reports: Phylogenetic studies of three pendent
Usnea species (F. Högnabba, H. Rämä, P. Halonen,
H. Lindgren, S. Velmala, S. Stenroos and L. Myllys,
Finland); Spore ornamentation and apothecia surface in
the lichen families Gyalectaceae and Coenogoniaceae
(L. Gagarina, Russia); The lichen genus Ochrolechia
in Europe (M. Kukwa, Poland); Erysiphales – new
tendencies of systematics (B. Bankina and G. Bimsteine,
Latvia). A number of reports dealt with ecology and
conservation of lichens and fungi: Diversity of rare
Participants of the18th Symposium of Baltic Mycologists and Lichenologists
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wood-inhabiting fungi in East European temperate
old-growth forests (Ž. Preikša, Lithuania); Further
results on conservation of lichenized fungi in Hungary
(E. Farkas, L. Lőkös and K. Molnár, Hungary); Lichens
in a chronosequence of 16–236 year-old kelo trees
(P. Lõhmus, A. Lõhmus and J. Kouki, Estonia); Lichens
as indicators of old-growth and pristine forests in
Russian Far East (E. S. Kuznetsova, D. E. Himelbrant
and I. S. Stepanchikova, Russia); Role of the
Fennoscandian green belt in conservation of the lichen
biota in eastern Fennoscandia (M. A. Fadeeva and
A. V. Kravchenko, Russia); Lichens of calcareous rocks
in Finland (J. Pykälä, Finland); Post-fire recovery of
the lichen cover in West Siberian forest: zonal aspects
(S. Abdulmanova, Russia); On the lichens of Svalbard
archipelago (L. Konoreva, Russia). In Mycological
section, a particularly large number of presentations
dealt with problems of plant pathology: Do endophytic
fungi of timothy have potential for bioprospecting?
(T. Varvas and K. Kasekamp, Estonia); Conifer bark
against pine needle cast? Data about conifer bark extract
impact on Lophodermium seditiosum mycelium growth
in vitro (R. D. Ķiesnere, D. Kļaviņa, N. Arhipova,
T. Gaitnieks, O. Polis, A. Korica and M. Daugavietis,
Latvia); Fungi associated with seed and plant infection
of pepper (R. Rodeva, Z. Stoyanova, E. Survilienė and
P. Chavdarov, Bulgaria and Lithuania); Pathogenic
mycobiota on plants of the genus Alnus Mill. (M. A. Tomoshevich
and E. V. Banaev, Russia). One presentation
was interdisciplinary: Mycotoxins in reindeer lichens
(G. Kononenko, Russia). The poster session was also
divided into Mycological and Lichenological sections,
in which 28 posters covering a variety of subjects were
discussed.
Also traditionally, a significant part of the Symposium
time was devoted to field studies. Three field
trips within the territory of Asveja Regional Park
were organized: to the valley of the Žverna Rivulet,
to Blužnėnai forest and to the valley of Jurkiškis
and Stirnelė Rivulet. Mycologists and lichenologists
collected a great variety of interesting fungi and lichen
species, noted new, hitherto unknown localities of rare
and protected species. The results of these collections
will be made available as publications in scientific
journals, the data on new localities of the Lithuanian
Red Data Book species will be made available to the
Directorate of Asveja Regional Park.
Home going of the Symposium participants was
crowned by an excursion to Asveja Regional Park
and Aukštaitija National Park as well as visits to the
museums of Ethnocosmology and Apiculture.
Next Symposium of the Baltic Mycologists and
Lichenologists will take place in Latvia in 2014.
Jurga Motiejūnaitė
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Botany,
Žaliųjų Ežerų Str. 49, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania
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