Fungi in the Forest

Fungi in the Forest

From the California Forest Stewardship Program, this lengthy article provides a refreshing perspective. “The bottom line is: we wouldn’t have forests without fungi.”

Here are a few tid bits to peak your interest:

“ Ninety percent of the forest soil biomass (weight of the living things), not including roots, is fungi.”

“These tiny organisms can grow to many acres in size and thousands of tons in weight. Several miles of filaments (hyphae) can be present in less than a thimbleful of soil associated with vigorously growing plants.”

“A single plant may be associated with dozens of species of fungi. Some mycorrhiza can connect many individual plants/trees, moving life-giving water and nutrients around the forest.”