Katharina Schwanda

Austrian Research Centre for Forests

The Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve represents one of the best-preserved wetlands in the Danube River basin area. It is among the largest riverine protected areas in Europe; hence it was named the "Amazon of Europe". Recently, in the Interreg Europe project “Resilient riparian forests as ecological corridors in the Mura-Drava-Danube Bios...

Eutypella canker of maple, caused by Eutypella parasitica (which is native to North America), is reported for the first time from Germany. From 2013 to 2015, this perennial canker disease was recorded on 105 maple trees in Munich. Six maple species were affected: Acer pseudoplatanus, A. campestre, A. platanoides, A. cappadocicum, A. heldreichii ssp...

This study aimed to demonstrate the association of the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus with leaf symptoms on Fraxinus excelsior and to test its pathogenicity towards leaves of three European ash species, F. excelsior, F. angustifolia and F. ornus, in wound inoculation experiments. On F. excelsior, H. fraxineus was isolated from 94 % of...

Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback, was inoculated onto intact, unwounded current-year shoots and leaf scars of 4-year-old, potted Fraxinus excelsior seedlings. Pieces of ash wood colonized by the fungus were used as inoculum. Three of 25 (12%) of the inoculated intact shoots and nine of 25 (36%) of the inoculated leaf scars w...

Hymenoscyphus fraxineus was isolated from four leaf rachises with necrotic lesions of flowering ash (Fraxinus ornus) seedlings, which had been planted on a forest site in Austria where they were exposed to a massive natural infection pressure. This represents the first definite report of natural infection of this ash species by the ash dieback path...

Ash dieback caused by the ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus (anamorph Chalara fraxinea) is characterized by a wide range of symptoms. Leaf symptoms have previously been related to this emerging infectious disease. In fungal isolations from necrotic lesions on leaf petioles and rachises as well as leaflet veins of Fraxinus excelsior, H....

Examination of isolates of Hymenoscyphus albidus from France revealed that this fungus does not form an anamorphic stage in culture. The lack of an asexual stage in this fungus is a conspicuous morphological difference to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus, which is associated with its Chalara fraxinea anamorphic state. In growth...

Is small mammal mycophagy relevant for truffle cultivation? Acta Mycol. 47 (2): 139–143, 2012. The role of mycophagous small mammals as vectors of hypogeous fungi is well established. However, little is known about dispersal of gourmet truffle species by mammal vectors, or about the potential role of mycophagy in truffle plantations. We hypothesize...

Dieback of Fraxinus excelsior, Fraxinus angustifolia and other Fraxinus species is an emerging infectious disease caused by the ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus (anamorph Chalara fraxinea). Investigations in five forest nurseries in Austria from 2008 to 2011 showed that ash dieback is a common and important disease of nursery seedlings...

Small forest dwelling mammals are considered to be major consumers and vectors of hypogeous ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, which have lost the ability of active spore discharge. Fungal spore dispersal by mycophagy is deemed an important process involved in forest regeneration, resilience and vitality, primarily based on evidence from Australia and th...

Mycophagy is often underestimated as dietary strategy, but forms an important part of the webs of life, especially in forest ecosystems. The identification of consumed fungal species is crucial to gain more knowledge about food web structures. DNA based methods are the way of choice to overcome limitations of species determination by microscopic an...