Urban Fungi – mapping our hidden neighbours in the city

Fungi are often a forgotten layer of biodiversity in ecosystems, as they tend to spend their lives mainly out of human sight. This might be especially true for urban environments. However, fungi are known to play a critical role in ecosystems by contributing to various ecosystem services that support biodiversity, soil and tree health, carbon cycling and sequestration.

Urban fungal diversity remains underexplored, but urban environments could still host a wide range of fungi, from soil-dwelling mycorrhizal species and plant pathogens to airborne fungi. The diversity and community composition of urban fungi can be shaped by local environmental factors, anthropogenic impacts, and urban stressors. Which fungi we unknowingly select for by urban planning and management decisions could have significant implications for ecosystem functioning and public health.

In this project, you will assess how urban environments impact fungal diversity by sampling fungi from selected urban green spaces and comparing them to rural/natural control sites, particularly focusing on root-associated fungi. You will use field sampling, isolation, and molecular characterization of fungal strains, combined with citizen science data.

We are looking for a master’s student with a keen interest in:

• Fungi (learning about fungal physiology, ecology, taxonomy)

• Urban Ecology (understanding fungal geographic patterns and community ecology in cities)

• Learning new lab techniques (culturing fungi from environmental samples, PCR and sequencing strains)

• Conservation biology (developing guidelines for managing fungal diversity in cities)

• Science outreach (communicating with city officials and the general public)

This project (30 – 60 credits)  is a collaboration between researchers at the Biology and MGeo departments. Sampling will be done across Malmö city and nearby forests.

All lab work will be conducted at Lund University, and you will be embedded in the Fungal research group within the Functional Ecology division and the strategic research area BECC (Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate).

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For more information, contact: Kristin Aleklett Kadish: kristin.aleklett_kadish@biol.lu.se, Dimitrios Floudas: dimitrios.floudas@biol.lu.se or Anna Persson: anna.persson@mgeo.lu.se