| dc.description.abstract | Climate change is the effect of rapid and recent change in global climate variables, affecting all species in all ecosystems. Fungi are no exception, fulfilling a variety of important roles as decomposers, parasites and mutualists. Polyporoid fungi, the focus of this study, grow on decaying trees as saprotrophs or necrotrophs, where they produce annual or perennial fruit bodies. Despite the potential consequences climate change poses on fungi’s diverse ecosystem services, little is known about the responses of fungi to climate variability. In this study I investigate the host affinity of polyporoid fungi and analyse the effects of climate variability on host affinity and fungal traits on a temporal scale. This was done by statistical analyses of field record data of 61 polypore species and 41 plant genera from the UK, obtained during the time period 1970 to 2010. Temperature and geographical distribution were shown to affect the structuring of fungal communities on host genera, and there is a temporal change in host distribution, possibly linked to climate change. The observed effects are trait-dependent, meaning that fungi with different traits respond differently to climate variability. This study exemplifies the value of utilising multiple-source datasets to unravel responses of polypore fungi and traits to climatic effects. | eng |