Mining areas, especially dumps that are accompanying them as well as excavations are a special type of industrial areas, where new, specific habitats and rare biocoenoses are created. They represent a kind of refuge for protected, endangered and rare species, by creating a specific and often very diverse environmental conditions. These are places with high concentrations of biodiversity, not only of plants and animals, but also of fungi. The main objective of the project is to identify the species diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the forest stands in the limestone mine "Górażdże" and in the neighboring forest habitats of high natural value.
Ectomycorrhizal fungi and the symbiosis they form with tree roots are essential for the normal functioning of forest ecosystems. This is especially important during the forest rehabilitation process. Seedlings of trees have to establish symbiosis with the relevant species of fungi to survive and thrive. The high diversity of mycorrhizal fungi is an indicator of the high development potential of the forest stand. So far there is little data referring to fungi which support trees growth on areas of limestone mine, not only in Poland. Recognizing their species richness in the mine " Górażdże" will have a cognitive and practical value - it will assess the progress of restoration processes and also will indicate the most optimal conditions for maintaining high diversity of this group of organisms.