The Rural Voice, 2006-09, Page 53Woodlot Management
essential elements. Literally
hundreds of kilometres of mycelium
may be present and as a result greatly
enhance the absorptive area of the
roots. The relationship not only
helps to increase tree health and rate
of growth, but also may aid in
resistance to disease. In return,
trees provide the fungi with sugars
manufactured during photosynthesis.
A number of approaches have
been attempted to inoculate newly
planted tree seedlings with
mycorrhiza to help survival and
growth. The simplest is to plant
seedlings adjacent to established
trees of the same species. Another
approach is to dip seedling roots into
a slurry of inoculant. There are even
commercially available inoculants for
some species of trees as well as many
horticultural plants.
Saprophytic fungi are another
group of fungi that are essential to
the ecology in a woodlot. They are
known as recyclers or decomposers
and have the ability digest or decay
wood and break it down into basic
elements such as carbon and nitrogen
that can then be utilized by plants and
other organisms. Saprophytic fungi
play a key role in recycling the
constant supply of organic matter •
produced in a forest.
A third group of fungi are
parasitic or diseaseicausing fungi.
While they are understandably
viewed negatively, they are still a part
of the natural cycle as mortality is an
integral part of forest ecology.
Often they are secondary invaders,
overcoming trees that are under stress
due to other factors such as insects,
climatic factors or age.
Aside from their key ecological
roles, a number of forest mushrooms
are also edible (historically some
have been used for medicinal
purposes also). While I've never had
enough nerve to harvest and eat any
of them myself (other than Morels),
many people do. I've talked to
several managers of public forests
near larger urban centres who say
they are amazed by the amount of
harvesting activity they see. In some
areas of North America harvesting is
done on a commercial basis. Of
course there are no doubt a number
of poisonings each year when people
make an error in identification.
Each of the groups of woodland
mushrooms I've described above
have some species that are commonly
harvested for food. A couple of
mycorrhizal mushrooms are Morels
and Chanterelles. Saprophytic
mushrooms are often cultivated for
commercial production. Some
examples are Shitake and Oyster
mushrooms. The fungus that causes
Armillaria or "Shoe String" Root Rot
has a fruiting body known as the
Honey mushroom and is also
apparently edible. If you are keen to
try harvesting mushrooms, I'd
suggest you get a couple of good
field guides and talk to someone who
is an expert in their identification
(and that's certainly not me).
If you have questions about
woodlot management or ideas for
topics you would like to see covered
in a future column, please contact
Steve Bowers at 519-482-3661 or
steve.bowers @ ontario.ca
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