Etnomicología y riqueza de macrohongos en comunidades rurales de la región sur de Piauí, Brasil

Background and Aims: Fungi play an important role in ecosystems and in human culture. In the Northeast region of Brazil, little is known about the importance of these organisms in rural communities. The objective of this study was to register the richness of macrofungi and how this richness is perceived in rural communities of Piauí, Brazil.Methods: A total of 176 inhabitants (99 women and 77 men) from the municipalities of Canto do Buriti and Guaribas were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were used, complemented with an inventory of macrofungi. Samples were collected in eight areas of the two municipalities between December 2016 and February 2018, and the identifications were confirmed by specialists from the Federal University of Pernambuco and the Federal University of Paraíba. The Margalef Richness Index and the PCORD software were used for the analysis of the quantitative data; the qualitative analysis was based on the description of observational records and structured interviews.Key results: Fifty-one species of macrofungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) distributed in six orders, 17 families and 32 genera were identified. Species richness (S=10.4) was considered high in the studied area. Agaricaceae was the most diverse family (18), followed by Polyporaceae (12). Macrofungi are perceived as environmentally important, but with little direct relevance to humans. According to the perception of local populations, some Agaricaceae species represent a risk to health. However, they are also seen as bioindicators for predicting climate change. Pycnoporus sanguineus (Polyporaceae), a species useful for local medicine, was the most cited, while Hexagonia hydnoides (Polyporaceae), Phellinus sp. and Fomitiporia sp. (Hymenochaetaceae) were perceived as parasites of timber plant species.Conclusions: The mycobiota present in the studied municipalities can be considered rich in macrofungal species and the local peoples recognize their presence, especially the presence of Agaricaceae and Polyporaceae.