Chapter Four

9
(Rodríguez, 2000) and ranges from around 100,000 (Ainsworth and Bisby, 1943) to
9.9 million (Hawksworth, 1991; 2001; Cannon, 1997). While such approximations are
open to debate, they all suggest that much of the species diversity is in the tropics and
remains to be discovered (Dreyfuss and Chapela, 1994; Fröhlich and Hyde, 1999;
Arnold et al., 2000: see Table 2.1).
Table 2.1 Approximate numbers of fungi (including slimemolds, lichen-forming
fungi, straminipilous fungi and yeasts) and plants a (seed plants and ferns) known from
different regions of the world (Hawksworth and Mueller, 2005).
Region
Described species
Estimated total
species
Percentage
unknown
Asia 20,000 (70,000) 600,000 (77,000) >95 (10)
Europe 25,000 (12,000) 65,000 (12,000) 60 (>1)
Africa 10,000 (60,000) 450,000 (67,000) >95 (10)
North America 21,000 (18,000) 250,000 (18,000) >90 (1)
Central and South 10,000 (85,000) 500,000 (100,000) >95 (15)
America
Oceania 6,000 (17,000) 250,000 (21,000) >95 (20)
Antarctica 750 (2) 1,750 (2) 55 (0)
Global 72,000 1,470,000 95
a Plant figures are in parentheses
Adapted from Rodriguez (2000)
Source: Table 2.3 (Hawksworth and Mueller, 2005)
Fungi play an integral role in ecosystem processes (see Table 2.2), e.g.,
nutrient cycling, plant growth, and sensitivity to air pollution. They are economically
important, e.g., as plant (Agrios, 2005) and animal pathogens; as a food source; in
food spoilage; and in biodeterioration (Alexopoulos et al., 1996; Dighton, 2003) and