Abstract

Los Ruiles National Forest Reserve is located in Cauquenes Province, Maule Region, Chile. Its focus is the protection of species of native flora and fauna of particular importance for the country. The Reserve contains specimens of Ruíl (Nothofagus alessandrii Espinosa), a tree species in critical danger of extinction which is endemic to the Maule Region and grows together with other species such as Coigüe (N. dombeyi (Mirb.) Oerst. and Hualo (N. glauca (Phil.) Krasser.). Native forest has become increasingly scarce in the Coastal Range of south central Chile due to deforestation and substitution by plantations of exotic tree species or farmland, indiscriminate felling, and recently also climate change, drought and fragmentation as a result of extensive forest fires. Study of the mycorrhizal fungus community associated with native forest is of the utmost importance, since these organisms participate in recycling nutrients from natural organic substrates present in the forests. Moreover, if the diversity of these organisms is known, long term conservation and restoration strategies can be developed for this type of highly fragmented forest which is in danger of disappearing. The object of this research was to publish a list of ectomycorrhizal fungi collected between 2007 and 2014 in the Los Ruiles National Forest Reserve.