Documenting the diversity of macrofungi in the Southern Rockies will involve morphological and genetic approaches.  The process of documenting the macrofunga of a region is complex. For ease of presentation the process has been broken into three fundamental parts: Field Collections, Data Collection and Management, and Analysis and Research.

Field Collection

Field Collections for the Colorado Macrofunga Project will follow a well designed protocol. Participants willing to contribute collections will need to follow the protocols laid out in the Denver Botanic Gardens Field Collecting Protocol For Macrofungi.
Participants are also highly encouraged to watch the following video put together by the Fungal Diversity Survey and the North American Mycological Association.

Data Collection and Management

The current, and best way for people to contribute macrofungal collections is to make iNaturalist observations of the specimens prior to actual collection of the mushrooms. Please take the time to create an iNaturalist account and learn how to make observations. The above video highlights how to do this.

Analysis and Research

The data collected from macrofungal specimens provides a foundation for analysis of the diversity and generation of products that describe the diversity. The most fundamental of these products will be species lists. These will be for CO as a whole, but also will focus on regional diversity within the Southern Rocky Mountains. A further extension of this data will be used to generate taxonomic keys and regional monographs for important macrofungal taxa.

Participation

For people interested in participating in mushroom biodiversity research for the first time, the best way to get started is to join one of the regional clubs and attend one of their forays.