Abstract
Long-term responses in the phenology of Mediterranean macrofungi to climatic changes are poorly documented. Here, we address this issue by comparing the fruiting patterns of 159 fungal species in Southern France between the first half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 21st century. We used a trait-based approach to assess the influence of phenology and morphology of fungal fruit bodies and their site ecology and biogeography on the response to climate change. We show that early autumnal fruiters, epigeous species and species with affinities for cold climates now start to fruit on average 16.4, 17.3 and 17.3 d later compared to their emergence dates in the 19th century, while late fruiters, hypogeous species and Mediterranean-restricted species did not change their fruiting date. Among ecological guilds, saproxylic species and pine-associated mutualists delayed their autumnal emergence by 32.5 and 19.2 d, likely in response to a delayed rewetting of litter and woody debris after extended summer drought. Our results suggest that long-term climate warming in the Mediterranean was accompanied by contrasting changes in the emergence of fungal fruit bodies according to ecological guilds, sporocarp life-forms and forest types.