Spores represent in the life cycle of a fungus a state of rest (low water content, high nutrient content; "latent life") between the active phase of spore dispersal and start of new growth. Serpula lacrymans produces 300,000 (Falck 1912) to 360,000 (Rypaek 1966) and Piptoporus betulinus 31,000,000 (Kramer 1982) spores per hour and cm2 of hymenium. Many forest mycorrhizal fungi fruit at higher air moisture content and lower temperature in the autumn. Among the tree parasites, Heterobasi-dion annosum disperse spores almost over the whole year, Laetiporus sul-phureus in the autumn. Many Basidiomycetes disperse their spores actively for 0.1-0.2 mm (ballis-tospores) so that the spores more easily reach the open air (Schwantes 1996). In Schizophyllum commune, a liquid drop at the sterigma becomes larger and hurls the spore into the airflow (Muller and Loeffler 1992). Moykkynen (1997), using a wind tunnel, measured for the conidia of Heterobasidion annosum that a threshold speed...
All about Ecology