Species-specific biomass dataset of fungal fruiting bodies of Mediterranean forest ecosystems

Macrofungi are a diverse group of organisms essential for the functioning of natural ecosystems. Their fruiting bodies are key to their life cycle, providing insight into fungal diversity through biomass-based species abundance and facilitating the quantification of provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. However, research on the biomass of macrofungal fruiting bodies has been limited due to the significant efforts required for sampling and identification. We introduce a comprehensive database that contains both fresh and dry biomass data for 836 species and 221 genera of macrofungal fruiting bodies found in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. This database is the largest global collection of macrofungal fruiting body biomass data, featuring information from over 350,000 fruiting bodies collected over more than 25 years. It enhances presence-only databases of macrofungal fruiting bodies, supports more detailed macrofungal research, and provides a foundation for developing management strategies to conserve fungal diversity, their ecosystem services, and enhance ecosystem resilience against global changes.