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The Adaptations of High-Altitude Mushrooms in the Cold Desert of Ladakh

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Environmental Change and Development in Ladakh, Indian Trans-Himalaya

Part of the book series: Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research ((AAHER))

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Abstract

Mushrooms form a large distinct epigeous or hypogeous fleshy fruiting body when the climatic conditions (temperature, light, moisture and nutrient supply) are favourable. They have evolved a multitude of adaptive strategies to withstand extremes of the environment in the niche they occupy. Here, we give an overview of the diversity of mushrooms in the cold desert of Ladakh. The adaptation strategies adopted by this group to overcome extreme high-altitude climatic conditions of freezing temperature, dryness and intense solar radiation are also discussed. We describe the fungal phenology pattern and substrate preference of macro-fungi in the cold arid region of Ladakh. While most of the reports on larger fungi are from tropical areas where the weather conditions are favourable, there are very few studies from extreme cold arid zones of the globe. Our survey catalogues 25 species of macro-fungi. Data are also presented on the fungal phenological patterns and substrate preferences of these macro-fungi in cold arid regions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Eliezer Joldan Memorial College, Leh, Ladakh, India

    Konchok Dorjey

  2. Higher Secondary School, Bhalra, Bhadarwah, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Sanjeev Kumar

  3. Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Yash Pal Sharma

Authors
  1. Konchok Dorjey
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  2. Sanjeev Kumar
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  3. Yash Pal Sharma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Konchok Dorjey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Independent Researcher, Wildlife & Environment, International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS), Bangalore, India

    Blaise Humbert-Droz

  2. Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Juliane Dame

  3. Ladakh Arts and Media (LAMO), International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS), Leh, Ladakh, India

    Tashi Morup

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Dorjey, K., Kumar, S., Sharma, Y.P. (2023). The Adaptations of High-Altitude Mushrooms in the Cold Desert of Ladakh. In: Humbert-Droz, B., Dame, J., Morup, T. (eds) Environmental Change and Development in Ladakh, Indian Trans-Himalaya. Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42494-6_7

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