PRE-CONGRESS WORKSHOP: COMMUNITY ECOLOGY OF FUNGI AND BACTERIA

The ongoing revolution in microbial ecology due to DNA-based identification of Fungi, Oomycota, and Bacteria is as profound as the 1830s revolution in laboratory microbiology caused by microscopy. In 2024, using DNA to identify microbes has made a microscope for the environment.
We are in the early days of this revolution, and this workshop aims to help direct it in terms of interactions between mycobiomes and microbiomes, including temporal dynamics and stability, melding DNA-based mycobiome composition with RNA-based function, interactions of Fungi with Bacteria and Plants, interactions of Oomycota with Fish, and the effect of Fungi on decomposition of plastics.
Mycologists studying community ecology are following theory developed by plant ecologists and approaches developed by bacteriologists. Fungal ecologists have the goal of assembling fungal genomes from meta-genomic sequence and fungal transcriptomes from meta-transcriptomic sequence to infer function of from the level of individuals to communities.
Advances required to achieve this goal include technical advances in obtaining fungal DNA and RNA sequence in the presence of DNA from bacteria and plants, in obtaining proteomes and metabolomes, and in making computational advances in analyzing sequence, including Artificial Intelligence.
Given the early days of the revolution in microbial community ecology, many questions are open. For example: Will microbial community ecology require new theory? When will the promise of meta-genomic assembly of fungal genomes in natural settings be achieved? How will microbial community ecology be used to alter plant productivity in terms of food production and carbon sequestration?
Ten ecologists working with Fungi, Oomycota, and Bacteria from Asia, North America, and throughout Europe will address these questions and others in their presentations.

This excursion is organized by Prof. John W. Taylor, University of California, Berkeley.

Important information:

• Date: Sunday, August 11th | 12:00-16:30 | Congress venue, Hall 3
• Pre-registration is required due to limited availability – you should add the Pre-Workshop to your registration package when you register for the Congress
• Co-Chairs: Øystein Evensen, Norway , John Taylor, USA
• Speakers: P. Baldrian, Ø. Evensen, O. D. R. Huerta, M. Cunliffe, R. Hestrin, L. Tedersoo, C. Gao, J. Nash, I. Skaar, T. Hirokazu, M. M. O.Owczarek-Koscielniak, G. Bonito
• Cost per person is 20 euros

Excursion 1: A visit to the Mount Saint Peter nature area near Maastricht

We will pay a visit to the “Mount” Saint Peter area that is located south of Maastricht.  Although considered a “mountain” by the Dutch, it is actually a plateau between the river Geer to the west and the Meuse to the east. It stretches from the south of Maastricht up into Belgium. The plateau consists of limestone that has been quarried up until 2018. Therefore a large “cave” system is present underground. Many old buildings in and around Maastricht are built by this limestone. During the excursion, an open quarry will be visited that is currently transformed into a nature area.

The plateau is now a Natura 2000 protected area and is managed by the Dutch Society for the Preservation of Nature Monuments “Natuurmonumenten”. The calcareous soil and the specific microclimate make this plateau (for Dutch standards) exceptional in its botanical variety.

The distance of the hike will be between 8 and 10 kilometers. You will visit beautiful scenery and you’ll have fantastic views over the surrounding areas. If possible we will try to identify any mushrooms that we encounter along the route. This route goes up and down and is therefore not suitable for people with mobility problems.

This excursion is organized by the Dutch Mycological Society.

Important information:

• Date: Sunday August 11th
• Pre-registration is required due to limited availability – you should add the field trip to your registration package when you register for the Congress
• The group will be accompanied by local guides
• Transportation from and to Maastricht is included
• Lunch Box is included
• Participants will be back on time in Maastricht to attend the opening ceremony
• Cost per person is 75 euros

Excursion 2: A visit to the Savelsbos forest and its prehistoric flint mines

We will pay a visit the “Savelsbos”, a forest that is situated on the hills that are carved out by the Meuse River in the south of Maastricht. The excursion will start at the small village of Rijkholt (Gronsveld) which is located approximately 10 kilometers south of Maastricht. The forest is a Nature 2000 protected nature area and is managed by the Dutch government organization of forestry called “Staatsbosbeheer”.

The “Savelsbos” is a deciduous forest of the oak-hornbeam type forest. Due to the large difference in altitude, substrate and microclimate, it consists of a wide variety of forest types. The relatively steep slopes of the plateau are intersected by depressions that have been carved out by the rain and melt water that flows from the plateaus. In Dutch these depressions are called “grubben”. One of these depressions called: “Schone grub” is also a forest reserve.

In prehistoric times, flint was mined in this area. This flint was used for producing several tools, for example, axes and hoes. During this excursion, we will also visit these prehistoric flint mines and you will get an insight into the work of the prehistoric flint miners.

The distance of the hike through the forest will be approximately between 8 and 10 kilometers. If possible we will try to identify any mushrooms that we encounter along the route. This route goes up and down and is therefore not suitable for people with mobility problems.

This excursion is organized by the Dutch Mycological Society.

Important information:

• Date: Sunday August 11th
• Pre-registration is required due to limited availability – you should add the field trip to your registration package when you register for the Congress
• The group will be accompanied by local guides
• Transportation from and to Maastricht is included
• Lunch Box is included
• Participants will be back on time in Maastricht to attend the opening ceremony
• Cost per person is 75 euros

Excursion 4: Field trip to the Jongenbos nature reserve in Belgium

In Belgium, in the province of Limburg, in the open landscape of Haspengouw, lies a green oasis, the Jongenbos forest. With a core of over one hundred hectares and still growing, it is one of the few places in this agricultural landscape where nature is still allowed to run its course. The forest lies on the transition zone between the sandy Kempen and the loamy Haspengouw, and is exceptionally rich in fungi, plants and animals.

The area is interesting for saprotrophic fungi on the one hand, due to the large amount of dead wood that is allowed to remain. There is a lot of dead beech, oak, and poplar, especially Populus canescens. In addition, it is one of our hot spots for ectomycorrhizal fungi. It has one of the richest fungas of Russula in Flanders, with particularly rare species such as Russula sublevispora, Russula rubrocarminea (all color forms such as yellow, red, green, purple, and transitional colors), Russula acetolens, and Russula roseicolor that can be seen regularly in some years. In addition to the trees mentioned earlier, there is a lot of hornbeam, hazel, willow, and birch. There are also two plots of Scots pine.

This excursion is organized by the Flemish Mycological Society.

Important information:

• Date: Sunday August 11th
• Pre-registration is required due to limited availability – you should add the field trip to your registration package when you register for the Congress
• The group will be accompanied by local guides
• Transportation from and to Maastricht is included
• Lunch Box is included
• Participants will be back on time in Maastricht to attend the opening ceremony
• Cost per person is 75 euros