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When most of us think about fungi we picture a mushroom, or the fruiting body of fungi. These are most commonly found on or around trees, on the forest floor, or elsewhere in nature. However, a vast and intricate tiny web of threads of fungi, or hyphae, exist below our feet. This complex web network of hyphae is commonly referred to as mycelium. It makes up the majority of a fungus and is rather conspicuous, as it exists in the first several inches of a soil layer. In a forest setting, one teaspoon of soil can have many miles of hyphae (3)! Sharing the soil with a plethora of organisms, it supports a majority of life through the recycling of plant material and other nutrients. Overall, fungi play a crucial role in soil, forest and tree health. However one may ask how fungi play such a crucial role in ecosystem health. Let's dive into some specifics.
Plants, fungi and mycelium play a crucial role in the creation of soil. A specific type of mycelium, known as mycorrhizae, has a powerful symbiotic relationship with trees. Fossil evidence of mycorrhizal fungi shows them to be more than 400 million years old. This mutualistic relationship allows trees to communicate with each other and also share nutrients. It has been noted that these connections allow multiple species of trees to communicate with each other and create a vitality that otherwise would be dampened without their presence (2). Furthermore, mycelium can break down minerals and organic matter into a digestible form for trees to uptake. While the mycelium and trees have their own plans, this symbiotic relationship creates a sharing of resources between plant communities and the mycelium itself. A tree losing its connection with a fungal network creates a lack of bond with other surrounding trees and a lack of nutrients, leaving it more vulnerable to pests and disease. Because of this close mutualistic association, mycelium and trees are crucial to one another. Sometimes trees in the built or urban environment lack this important fungi network and connection, leaving the resilience of our urban forests vulnerable.
Trees, humans and fungi all seem to thrive in community rather than in isolation. Efforts to reconnect our urban forests with a healthy soil community are seeing success. Regenerative soil practices are showing results, fostering the health and vitality of urban forests. These regenerative soil practices are specifically seeing success through urban forest initiatives in the Front Range of Colorado. For example, fungi are being integrated into forest health initiatives to assist in lessening the severity of future forest fires (5). Organizations like Promotores Verdes who work with underserved communities to promote more green spaces and tree health, have seen immense success in the revitalization of declining trees through mulching and composting in conjunction with mycelium inoculation (6).
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