Kathryn wrote:
>Sounds interesting Jeff - tell us more. I'm sure most people on this list
>are pretty conscious that we are dependent on fungi but the detail gets
>more and more fascinating as the research is done. Me, I love the idea that
>more of me is bacteria than is me
Hi Kathryn,
My information came from an article in "Mushroom" by Paul
Stamets. It didn't have a source list. Stamets is currently
growing mushrooms in oil saturated mulch so some of this is
original research. The part about PH being controlled by
fungi sounds plausible and i suspect the facts can be easily
found. If i get time i'll check the research at OSU.
What puzzles me is the role of fungi in the ocean. I think
about 80 percent of the earths oxygen and photosynthesis is in
the ocean and i've not heard anything about fungi. On land
i'm pretty sure plants and fungi are the prime movers.
Forests (locally) are probably more fungi than trees.
What might be interesting is to look at agriculture from the
fungi's perspective. They seem to be at the center of the
growing process. Most organic matter is broken down by
fungi, the fungi feed plant roots, and fungi are inside
plants fighting disease. They control the soil environment
in places and act as filters. These are the things modern
agriculture has tried to take over and failed. One might
conclude that the failure of modern agriculture is mostly due
to ignoring the role of fungi.
At present a few people are saying this about forestry. We
are killing the forests by not understanding the role of
fungi. This is still a radical idea but seems to be growing.
jeff
