Allison Dunbar

I am graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a minor in Biology. As part of my Senior Design, I am working on soil erosion and hydrology in relation to flooding caused by glacial ice dam breaks. Though my major is in engineering, biology and specifically mushrooms are near and dear to my heart. I am co-owner of a gourmet mushroom farm located in Anchorage, Alaska. My business, Far North Fungi, is going into its' fourth growing season and is a staple at the South Anchorage Farmers Market. As part of my business and for the pure enjoyment of nature, I forage for fungi throughout South Central Alaska. I am thankful for the opportunity to combine my fungi and academic goals through my Biological research.

The study of mushrooms and other fungi in Alaska is an expanding field of study. The State of the World’s Fungi 2018, a Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew publication, states 2189 as the number of new fungi species described in the year 2017. With large areas of undeveloped habitat, Alaska offers an tremendous opportunity to document, collect and catalog species. This study focuses on the northernmost edge of the Alaskan rainforest in the Chugach National Forest, specifically the unique east-west valley of Portage Valley, fifty miles south of Anchorage, and nearby north-south running Girdwood valley. Collected data includes historical and more recent cataloged lists and one field season of collecting (fall 2018). Our goal is to document what groups and families of fungi might be present at our target valleys and compare them to similar bioregions within the state.

The earliest information in our database of Southcentral Alaska with emphasis on the valleys of Portage and Girdwood is from a 1945 survey by Dow Baxter along the base of Bear Valley Glacier area. Then we added the species listed in the Chugach National Forest pamphlet, as well as the Turnagain Arm Mycological Society’s ten-year database (2008-2018) of species identified at their annual Girdwood Forest Fair. This list of over 200 species became the foundation of the database which came to include over 200 DNA confirmed samples. Additionally, a 1994 cross-state survey by Volk, et al. filled in some species in the target area of Portage and Girdwood. A list by Dr. Gary Laursen and Christin Swearingen from the Palmer-Wasilla valley was also incorporated for comparison. (Swearingen 2018). Next, the samples gathered from the fall 2018 field season were added. These samples were collected, provisionally identified, and posted to the iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer websites for collaborative identification. The last datasets added came from those two websites which have specimen identification documented in the two target valleys. Future plans for our project include DNA typing for identification confirmation.