Contact Information
Phone:(808) 956-8369
Fax: (808) 956-3923
Email: amend@hawaii.edu

Affiliations
Botany, EECB

Statement:

Tricholoma matsutake is an economically important ectomycorrhizal mushroom intensively harvested in culturally Tibetan areas of China and exported to Japan. Today an estimated 60% of Diqing's economy revolves around the trade. This study seeks to understand the intricacies of how humans and fungal ecology interact by examining the reproductive biology of Matsutake within a human-disturbance chronosequence, assessing gene flow within the prefecture, and comparing indigenous knowledge with extant Matsutake management strategies. To address these issues I will sample mycorrhizae mushrooms from T. matsutake populations in forests with three distinct logging histories and ages. Microsatellite analysis will determine differences among population genetic and genotypic diversities among populations. Spatial analyses of genotype distribution will indicate the extent to which populations are reproducing via basidiospores or hyphae. To assess Matsutake information pathways, questionnaires were completed by harvesters, Matsutake dealers, government officials and non-governmental conservation professionals. This project will use novel methods to answer fundamental questions about T. matsutake's autecology and conservation.