Bartalinia mellea

ROMINA M. SÁNCHEZ

CÓRDOBA

Workshop; II Workshop de Listas Rojas de Hongos de Sudamérica; 2022

Fundación Fungi y Micolab Universidad Federal de Santa Catarina

Bartalinia mella is a pathogenic species of a shrubby plant, Mimosa rocae which grows in grassland ecosystems over rocky outcrops. The host plant is endemic in Uruguay where it is mostly distributed, in one state of Brazil and in the southern mountains of Buenos Aires province of Argentina. It is found growing between 200 and 700 m asl. The fungus species was found only once, in the north slope of Cerro Tres Picos (south of Buenos Aires province) in 1988. This site is characterised by fragmented patches of natural grassland, dry climate with long periods of insolation and very low temperatures in winter. These mountains are of low height (up to 1250 m asl) so the grassland ecosystems are mainly threatened by human activities such tourist hiking, plants extraction, anthropogenic fire, introduction of invasive species and land use changes, resulting in its decline. Bartalinia mellea is only known from one site but considering the particular weather conditions of this place, it can potentially be found in six more sites of the mountains ranges of Buenos Aires province where it is the southern limit of the plant distribution. Each site can potentially host no more than 5 mature individuals resulting in a total estimated population size of less than 50 mature individuals, all within two subpopulations. Due to the expected decrease of host plant population because of the anthropogenic disturbance (tourism, fire) B. mellea is inferred to undergo an additional 15% reduction in the next 50 years.