HISTORY OF TAXONOMIC MYCOLOGY IN BELARUS:
A BIBLIOGRAPHIC SURVEY

Brief overview of dissertations most closely related to fungal taxonomy

The queston about what theses are belonged to the sphere of taxonomic mycology is not so simple because of no distinct border between various divisions of fungal science. For example, the works on plant pathology can include morphological descriptions of fungi and speculations about differences between close species. In this chapter we include either the dissertations containing strictly taxonomic data (taxonomic keys, considerations of infrageneric subdivision, etc.), or the works in which more than 30 species of fungi were mentioned, and so the process of species identification was rather voluminous.

The single Doctoral (Hbl. Dr.) thesis concerning fungal taxonomy prepared in Belarus was a work by Sof'ya V. Gorlenko (1974), discussing species composition and genesis of pathogenic fungi on introduced arboreous and herbaceous plants. According to the thesis abstract, ca 300 fungal species were recorded on ornamental plants in Belarus.

Several Candidate (Ph.D.) dissertations on taxonomic mycology in broad sense or related to fungal taxonomy were prepared and defended in Belarus. An exception is the thesis by Kolmakov, prepared and defended in St-Petersburg, discussing the mixed data collected in Belarus and Russia. The dissertations are listed in chronological order below.

1. Nina V. Semenova (Gorbach) (1953), studied composition of epiphytic lichens in Neharelae (Negoreloe) Forest Economy (central Belarus).

2. Emma P. Komarova (1955), inventorized Belarus polyporoid fungi and preliminary introduced 4 new taxa.

3. Natal'ya I. Chekalinskaya (1961), described 18 fungi parasitizing Lupinus in Belarus.

4. Galina I. Serzhanina (1962), inventorized agaricoid fungi of Belarus (more 500 species) with an accent on their importance as edible or poisonous.

5. Alina I. Golovko (1978), discussed and assessed cultural morphology, ecological, and some physiological characters (wood decay capability, growth rate) for 7 species from Phellinus igniarius gr.

6. Olga S. Gapienko (1985), studied species composition of basidiomycetes (mostly agaricoid ones) and some ascomycetes with macroscopic fruitbodies in selected oak forest communities of Belarus, with an accent on thier decay function.

7. Ivan S. Girilovich (1990), inventorized rust and powdery mildew fungi of Belarus, with an accent on thier harmfulness.

8. Vladimir V. Golubkov (1992), inventorized lichens of selected protected natural areas of Belarus.

9. Vladislav I. Gulis (1999, Aquatic…), described 50 species of aquatic hyphomycetes found in selected water ecosystems of Belarus, with the accent on their ecology and physiology.

10. Eugene O. Yurchenko (2001, Corticioid…), inventorized corticioid fungi of Belarus, with an accent on variability of their phenotypical characters.

11. Natal'ya G. Kordiyako (2003), discussed aphyllophoroid fungi assemblages in selected park ecosystems of Belarus.

12. Dar'ya B. Belomesyatseva (2003), inventorized fungi (mosty from septated-mycelium phyla) associated with juniper in Belarus, with an accent on their ecology.

13. Yadviha A. Shaparava (2003), critically studied the genera Lactarius and Russula in Belarus, inventorized thier species, analyzed the taxonomic features for delimiting species and infrageneric taxa.

14. Vyacheslav B. Zvjagintsev (2003), inventorized the species of Armillaria in Belarus, with an accent on their pathogenic properties.

15. Pavel Yu. Kolmakov (2005), summarized the data on agaricoid fungi in Belarusian Lakeland Physiographic Province [together with Valdai (Pskov) Lakeland in Russia].