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Rūta Urbonaitė

PhD Student

CV

Scientific interests
Biodiversity, distribution and ecology of fungi in grassland and sandy habitats; relationships between fungal communities, soil and vegetation; application of fungi as bioindicators for assessing habitat condition and biological value; fungal monitoring and identification methods.
PhD Thesis Abstract
The aim of the doctoral research is to assess the diversity and distribution of macrofungi, particularly CHEGD fungi, in Lithuanian grassland and sandy habitats; identify the key environmental and plant community factors associated with fungal community structure; investigate fungal trophic relationships and plant–fungus interactions; and evaluate the suitability of fungi as bioindicators of habitat condition.
The main objectives of the research are:
• To select representative grassland and sandy habitat sites and conduct standardized macrofungal inventories and species identification using morphological and DNA sequencing methods.
• To assess relationships between fungal communities, soil properties, moisture and vegetation composition, and identify the key environmental drivers.
• To investigate the trophic ecology of selected fungi and their potential interactions with plants.
• To evaluate the suitability of fungi, particularly CHEGD fungi, for assessing grassland and sandy habitat condition and optimize fungal monitoring methods.

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