21 - The contribution of national mycological societies: the Dutch Mycological Society and its Committee for Fungi and Nature Conservation

Summary

The Dutch Mycological Society

The Dutch Mycological Society was set up in 1908 and the object of the Society is to promote the study and understanding of fungi. This is done by organising meetings and field excursions, and by publication of the Society's journal, Coolia. The Society has a number of Committees, of which the Committee for Fungi and Nature Conservation deals with all aspects of conservation of fungi and nature management.

Apart from the yearly meeting in which all matters concerning the organisation of the Society are discussed, two general days with lectures are organised each year: one with a special theme organised by the Scientific Committee and a more general one organised by the Society itself. These meetings are very well attended, and at the general meeting in January it is often the case that 170 of the approximately 500 members attend.

In the mushroom season at least every weekend and often also during the week field excursions are organised for members. Every year two week-long forays are organised, one inland and one abroad. A good policy concerning conservation of fungi is impossible without knowledge of their distribution. Therefore, we will first briefly discuss the activities of the Dutch Mycological Society in the study of fungal distribution.

Distribution of fungi: recording

The Society is very active in gathering information about the distribution of fungi in The Netherlands. From its early days, the Dutch mycologist Frencken kept lists of records of field excursions.