Growth Simulation of Lyophyllum decastes and Coprinus comatus and Their Influencing Factors in a Forested Catchment

Abstract

Wild edible mushrooms are an important food source globally and have a crucial role in forest ecosystems. However, there is limited research on the growth characteristics and the contribution of agronomic traits to biomass, and the environmental factors affecting mushroom growth are limited. This study was conducted in the Qilian Mountains, China, and focused on investigating the growth patterns and agronomic traits of Lyophyllum decastes and Coprinus comatus. The results revealed that the growth of these mushrooms followed a logical growth curve. By calculating the model parameters, we obtained the maximum daily growth of height (PH), pileus diameter (PD), and cluster perimeter (CP) of L. decastes on the 5th, 7th, and 7th days, respectively, with values of 0.55 cm d−1, 0.54 cm d−1, and 4.54 cm d−1, respectively. However, the maximum daily growth of PH, pileus length (PL), and PD of the C. comatus appeared on the 3rd day, 2nd day, and 2nd day of the observation, respectively. This study identified near-surface relative humidity, air relative humidity, and rainfall as the primary factors influencing mushroom growth, as indicated by Pearson’s correlation analysis, redundancy analysis (RDA), and multiple linear and stepwise regression. Additionally, land surface temperature and air temperature were also identified as important factors affecting mushroom growth. By utilizing random forest and stepwise regression analysis, this study identified PH and stipe diameter (SD) as the most crucial agronomic traits affecting mushroom biomass. Overall, this study offers insights for industrial mushroom cultivation and basic fungal research.