The Forest Floor

Mycelium Information Super Highway

Through a process called photosynthesis, trees can end up producing more sugar than they need. Under the earth, fungi thrive but must have sugar to survive and reproduce. There is a symbiotic relationship between the trees and fungi that involve something called Mycelium.

Mycelium are the tiny thread like masses that some may have seen when they’ve opened a bag of soil or perhaps found after digging around in a pile of rotting mulch. Mycelium secrete enzymes that allow the break down of complex organic molecules from things like branches, leaves, dead bugs, and dead animals, into digestible nutrients that the fungi absorb and use to grow. Since fungi do not have the ability to use photosynthesis, they must feed through the excess tree sugar and the fungi turns around and reroutes nutrients to trees that are struggling.

This special relationship is called Mycorrhiza, which comes from the Greek words for fungus and root. This relationship between the two living species is so important for the movement of nutrients and even water, that without it new seedlings aren’t nourished. The forest floor would cease without this connection it’s so important.

When something on the forest floor is under threat, the information super highway notifies nearby trees and they begin the process of moving things around to protect them. Recently, a team of researchers in the Canadian forest were able to positively identify a fungal network linking one single main elder tree to at least forty-seven other younger trees nearby. Alarmingly, when an elder tree was removed completely, the entire network connecting all the trees simply disappeared.

Scientist believe there are somewhere around four or five million species of fungi but currently, we’ve only documented around two-hundred thousand species. This mere drop in the bucket means that we have such an incredible need to get more photographers and scientists out there discovering and documenting their finds.

While Fungi don’t create oxygen due to the lack of photosynthesis, what they can do is clean the soil of heavy metals and other toxic substance. As if that isn’t enough to fascinate you, they are a wonderful food source for squirrels who consumer them in abundance from late spring until early fall. What’s so important about that? A squirrels intestinal tract somehow allows the spores of the mushroom to survive and as they excrete fecal matter throughout forests, which then allows spores to be released and new fungi spread across the forest floor starting the whole super highway process in a new area.

The importance of the forest canopy and floor becomes even more apparent when you realize that older trees produce more oxygen than their younger siblings. Pine trees specifically produce an abundance of oxygen even into the winter months due to them not losing their needles. Trees are even capable of storing carbon dioxide in their fibers which help clean the air and reduce the amount of CO2 released into the environment. In fact, a mature tree will be capable of absorbing over forty-eight pounds of CO2 in a single year.

How does any of this impact your homestead? Heavy machinery use, stump removal, severe logging and soil compaction all have damaging effects on the mycelium networks in many large forests around the world. By no means am I some bleeding heart tree hugger but it should give one pause to consider just how many trees you plan on tearing down to put in your perfectly ideal food forest and market garden. Choose wisely what you tear out and destroy.

How can your actions positively effect the mycelium networks?

• Plant diverse species of trees, don’t monocrop.
• When buying property, don’t clear cut the entire piece. Clear off just enough for your home and gardening spaces.
• Sometimes, heavy machinery is a necessity on the homestead but try to limit it’s usage to specific areas to reduce soil damage.
• Leave fallen leaves where they lie as opposed to raking them and putting them curb side.
• Reduce and eliminate tilling and heavy fertilizer usage.

If fungi now interest you, check out the wonderful photography of Stephen Axford. Or if you want more scientific information on the benefits of mushrooms, check out the many talks given by Paul Stamets.

For more weird and wonderful forest floor reading, check out the science of cordyceps, slime mold, lichen, algae and moss. There is a whole world of life out there to discover!