Basidiomycetes biodiversity in the area of impact of emissions of the Volgograd aluminum plant

There are a large number of operating plants, combines and factories on the territory of Volgograd. Daily they emit tons of pollutants into the atmosphere, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, fluoride compounds, nitrogen oxides, inorganic dust, etc. All of them are absorbed by the environment, including mushrooms. It is known that fruiting bodies of fungi accumulate heavy metals from the environment well and are excellent bioindicators. The study of the accumulation of toxic substances in the basidiomes of macromycetes in Volgograd has not previously been carried out. The purpose of our study was to assess the contamination of mushroom fruiting bodies in the sanitary protection zone of the plant by the bioindication method. We used standard methods of field research, microscopic analysis of samples using a Mikmed-5 binocular microscope, a Levenhuk C 510 NG camera and a standard set of reagents (5 % alkali solution and Meltzer’s reagent for determining the reaction of cell walls to iodine) and the bioindication method with the use of the lower crustaceans Daphnia as a test object. During mycological studies performed in fall-2019 in the study area, 14 species of fungi were identified. As a result of the bioindication research, a macromycete that accumulates harmful substances to a greater extent - Tricholoma equestre (L.) P. Kumm was identified. This species is considered tasty by the inhabitants of the city. The study proves that picking and eating mushrooms from the territory of sanitary protection factories, in particular the Aluminum Plant, is unsafe.