This project documents and characterizes wild edible fungi across Croatian habitats using integrated field sampling, morphological taxonomy, molecular barcoding and biochemical profiling. The outcome will support biodiversity records, safe utilization and targeted dissemination of scientific results. Contact: isiric@agr.hr
Ivan Širić, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2014 · PI
Principal investigator. He directs project management, leads scientific planning, handles administrative and financial responsibilities, coordinates the team, organizes meetings and training, and oversees scientific and administrative reporting. He participates in all objectives.
Aleksandra Perčin, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2012 · Collaborator (C)
Agroecology and environmental analytics specialist. She leads field work, soil chemistry and microbial diversity analyses, and contributes to data interpretation and manuscript preparation.
Ivica Kos, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2011 · Collaborator (C)
Food biotechnology expert. He oversees biochemical and nutritional analyses of mushroom material, evaluates food-safety aspects and health-risk questions, and supports data management and publications.
Tena Radočaj, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2025 · Collaborator (C)
Specialist in sustainable environmental management and molecular preparative work. She conducts field sampling, phenotypic and microscopic assessments, prepares samples for molecular and biochemical assays, and contributes to data analysis and publications.
Sanja Slunjski, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2013 · Collaborator (C)
Senior researcher in chemical soil and elemental analyses. She performs laboratory analyses for soil and fungal matrices, assesses sample toxicity, and contributes to manuscript drafting and dissemination.
Nives Marušić Radovčić, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Technology (Croatia) · PhD 2013 · Collaborator (C)
Food biotechnology researcher. She conducts nutritional and biochemical profiling using modern analytic techniques and supports data analysis, dissemination and publication tasks.
Jelena Lončar, Ph.D.
University of Zadar — Dept. of Ecology, Agriculture & Aquaculture (Croatia) · PhD 2020 · Collaborator (C)
Expert in microbial diversity, food safety and mycotoxin analysis. She analyzes correlations between abiotic factors and fungal communities, leads microbial diversity interpretation, and contributes to data dissemination and publications.
Boro Mioč, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 1997 · Collaborator (C)
Biotechnology and nutritional composition specialist. He assesses heavy-metal content in fungal material, conducts health risk assessments and contributes to data analysis and scientific reporting.
Ivan Vnučec, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · PhD 2011 · Collaborator (C)
Researcher in food-production biotechnology and nutritional profiling. He supports field measurements, microclimate monitoring and fatty-acid focused biochemical analyses, and participates in dissemination and publications.
Pankaj Kumar, Ph.D.
Research & Development Division, Society for AgroEnvironmental Sustainability (India) · PhD 2022 · Collaborator (C)
Senior researcher in fungal ecology and sequencing. He leads statistical analysis and modeling of taxonomic and microbial-diversity datasets, supports phylogenetic analyses and assists in manuscript preparation.
Project Assistant, MSc. agr.
University of Zagreb — Faculty of Agriculture (Croatia) · Role: D
Full-time assistant supporting all project activities, including field logistics, sample processing, laboratory assistance and routine data curation.