Extinctions ctd: Red List for Fungi?

 

Bugs are living in the middle stairs of ecological pyramid. They are eating vegetables, or the other animals, right? In the pyramid, plants are situated one step lower than the insects et al, but not in the bottom. For all the living creatures from the vegetables and the above in the pyramid, it is relatively easy to “count.” One mosquito is counted one. One tulip is tallied one. One dog is one dog. When we think a creature is endangered, it means probability-wise the generational continuation would be extremely tricky for them because the counting says they have few populations. IUCN set the detailed criteria to define conservation status of living things based on “counting.” Even corals, a tiny polyp individually, are counted mainly in the number of colonies. Any problem with this approach? Oh yes. Mushrooms, myxomycetes and bacteria have problems in counting.

Plants survive on sufficient supply of nutrients processed by underground fungi et al. Roots of plants cannot take complex organic materials directly from the soil. Fungi decompose organic things, and take nitrogen, phosphorus, and the other minerals out from the “organic fertilizer” in a form suckable for clumsy rootlets of plants. If fungi die out, so do the plants due to starvation. If the world of plants deteriorates, the bugs that depend on vegetable extinct, as the bugs nerds lamented last week (; my post last week). The chain will soon reach us mammals ... In Niiharu, now Lovers are engaging in revitalization of Japanese alders. The standard approach we first take is clearing the sky for the trees, i.e. thinning (😊 easy). We think it would stimulate photosynthesis of established alders. We next need seedlings to grow. It is tricky. We realize Japanese alders, especially their seedlings, need specialized mycorrhizal fungi, i.e. Lactarius, Alpova, and Alnicola, underground for receiving nutrients. Er … do you know any way to make it sure these fungi are abundant there, without using moneyed laboratories with microscopes and lots of analytical reagents? Meanwhile the site of the alder trees is rapidly drying up now. It would make the life of underground fungi difficult. We may need some civil engineering work to let the water come in … Anyway, we cannot count underground organisms if they have enough population to conserve alders. It’s like proceeding in a VERY dark road.

The fruits of Gastrodia pubilabiata, a member of the orchid family.
It does not have chloroplast, and hence, depends completely on
 the nutrients provided by underground organism.
 Researchers found the orchid take mycelium of wood-decaying fungi
 in their “root” and digest the fungi completely with
 the disassembled elements from organic matter.
 Wood-decaying fungi are able to destroy cellulose, 
so the orchid would need
 sustenance procured lot from decomposed cellulose.
 Not only that, when they flower they emit rotting odors
 similar to fungi that could attract flies.
 The bugs come and put on pollens,  
then fly to another Gastrodia pubilabiata
to practically facilitate pollination.
i.e. The orchid depend on fungi
 not only for food but also child bearing.
 The story has additional conclusion.
 The flies lay eggs on the orchid thinking
 it is mushroom edible for their maggots.
 Alas, the cradle their baby find does not provide any food,
 and so they die before becoming adults. Terrifying orchid …

The valley Lovers of Niiharu
try to restore Japanese alders.
The place was once rice paddies,
but now rapidly drying.
 Don’t you think the vegetation in this photo
 does not show much difference from dry land?
Drier ground has underground world of fungi
 that love drier environment.
 Such condition may not good
 for the fungi that can help alders.

When we meet a mushroom in forest, we are delighted and say “Here! One mushroom!” Er, the way of counting this way is exact in one sense and completely missing the point from another. A mushroom, that with a cap and stem, is a fruiting body of fungi’s mass of mycelia spreading widely underground. The mycelium is individually so thin as to be measured by micrometers. Counting individual mycelium is unpractical, especially to determine if we have many of it, or not. As they are as such, it is very difficult to apply IUCN’s definition dependent on counting for determining the conservation status. Of course the issue has been known for some time (please see here or here). People are trying to mitigate the problem. The number of red listed fungi is slowly increasing. Still, we should have a sense of urgency, Prof. Nara Kazuhide for Tokyo University said in a seminar recently.

One mushroom, Marasmius pulcherripes
 … or is it?

Mushrooms in the family of Boletes.

Calvatia craniiformis.
At least, we have not heard it is nearing extinction.

In Japan and Asia, Prof. Nara has identified several plants that are for endangered list AND having troubles to procure enough Mycorrhizal fungi for their survival. These include rare species of pines and symbiotic truffles in Yakushima Island 屋久島 and Tanegegashima Island 種子島. To conserve such vegetables, we have to safeguard the underground world of these fungi that are often specialists for endangered plants. In other words, when mycorrhizals are endangered, so are the plants dependent on the fungi. Prof. Nara is a bit cynical for the current status of the thing. “Even how to define endangered status for fungi is facing problems when we try to apply the same counting approach. But we must establish the way rather sooner. Already the endangered fungi produce lots of endangered plants. There are many experts for endangered pandas, but people are ignorant of the fungi and smaller bacteria which are very basic to the entire ecosystem. We must be attentive.” Well. All nature nerds, being for bugs or for fungi, are reaching the same conclusion, it seems to me.

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with

Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/

Still Dry: Mushrooms in Kanagawa’s Forest 2023

 

Every early autumn, we Kanagawa Forest Instructors do a small field study to learn mushrooms in Kanagawa’s forests. Several days ago, we’ve done that for 2023, and concluded “Gee. It’s a strange year.” Reason? We’ve found fewer than usual number of mushrooms, especially those sprouting from the ground. One senior Instructor said “Hmmmm … The soil is dry. Fungi cannot grow enough to develop lots of mushrooms …”

Rickenella fibula.
It’s a tiny mushroom cohabit with mosses.

Mushrooms are not plants, but fungus. The standard form of them is organism spreading in network structure, secreting digestive enzymes into whichever place of sufficient humidity they are weaving the net. They then absorb dissolved molecules that constructed their environment, such as soil, fallen trees and/or dead body of creatures from Animalia. When they “eat” enough to knit dense network, they form “mushrooms” in order to spread spores for procreation. i.e. Unless the web becomes large enough to push up mushrooms, their visible overground apparition is rare. Yeah, this week, the temperature has dropped finally in Kanagawa Prefecture. The lowest temperature is constantly below 20°C which is a benchmark we can expect sprouting mushrooms. Though, this summer, we had almost a draught, and fewer typhoons have come (; my post on July 28). The ground in the forest is still preserving dry fallen leaves of last year, and we can find only a few mushrooms on the ground.

Death Cap. Uber-poisonous, but cute mushroom

Finding mushrooms shoot up from the ground is fun, that’s for sure. Many of such mushrooms are mycorrhizal fungi that cohabit with the plants and exchange nutrition by weaving the hypha around plants’ roots. Mushrooms give broken-up molecules from soil or else, and plants give carbohydrate molecules created from photosynthesis. The presence of mycorrhizal fungi acts as an indicator if the forests are thriving. If mycorrhizal fungi are abundant, it means the health of trees surrounding the mushrooms are quite well as they are actively swapping food with the fungi. But if mushrooms of this type are found not much …

White coral fungus

Instead, we’ve met lots of mushrooms, saprophytic fungi, covering the fallen trees due to oak tree wilt. Lots of mushrooms on lots of logs would be one consequence of raging disease for trees (my posts on August 23, 2019 and September 6, 2019). “Well, we need to update our knowledge about mushrooms of Kanagawa Prefecture ... There are such varieties of saprophytic fungi …” That’s what one of the veteran forest instructors murmured on that day. In contrast to mycorrhizal fungi, saprophytic fungi get their nutrition purely from their decomposing ability. Especially one of those festering fallen trees called white-rot fungus have enzyme that can dissolve lignin. Lignin is the thing to make trees stand high from the ground. The staff is uber hard and robust. If humans want to decompose lignin, we need many kinds of chemicals, long-long hours, and global-warming energy consumption to maintain the machines in lab. Saprophytic fungi do it naturally as their way of eating meal. It’s a superpower. It seems to me scientists are studying for utilizing fungi ability to make cost-effective method of biochemical pulping, etc. Hmmm, they have practical utility for human life then …

Microporus affinis (Blume & T. Nees) Kuntze,
  saprophytic fungi

Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (Jacq.) Fr., ditto!

Hypoxylon truncatum & Chicken of the Woods.
The log they attached is turning the color white,
which means these fungi is saprophytic.

Even before becoming handy for producing industrial paper, saprophytic fungi really cleanup the dead bodies of plants and return the disbanded molecules to the soil. It will make the forest of nutritious ground and so to last. Yeah, it’s very important scenery of sustained biodiversity when we encounter such fungi is in action on the dead trees by oak tree wilt … Though, if it is numerous found in a forest, it’s an uneasy vista. To begin with the die-out of oak family in Kanagawa’s forests is due to long-term neglect of forest for tens of years (my posts on August 23, 2019 and September 6, 2019). Fungi is cleaning up the mess we’ve created. … Sorry, forests. If there are spirits in forests and mountains, will they accept our apology in deference to hard-working saprophytic fungi?

They are wild oyster mushrooms on the dead sawtooth oak.
This tasty fungi is also saprophytic.

Speaking fungi that dramatically reduced its number in Kanagawa Prefecture, there is Rhizopogon roseolus, Shoro 松露 in Japanese, of Basidiomycetes phylum. It is mycorrhizal fungi surviving with pines. Its way of mushroom apparition is similar to Tuber of Ascomycota phylum, but in terms of evolutionary family tree, the difference between shoro and tuber is like octopus and homo sapience. Anyway, this mushroom was once so easy to find along Shonan Beach 湘南海岸. Until about 150 years ago, Tokaido 東海道, the former form of Route 1, connecting Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto, ran along the Beach lined with well-tended street trees of black pines. Shoro came out around the roots of such pines. The mushroom is known to be delicious for centuries. It goes well with omelet, pilaf, grill, stir fry, etc. Those merchants along Tokaido of Shonan Beach knew this of course, and served food with Shoro in cafés along the busy artery road. One of their culinary creations was SWEET, which was probably one and the only of such things in Japan. Yep, they made sweet bean jelly mixed with candid (YES!) Shoro mushrooms 松露羊羹. It was a specialty the travelers of yester-centuries looked forward enjoying on Shonan Beach. There were many cafés dished up the treat with nice green tea … Those were the days. Such beautifully lined pines are gone, and the road along Shonan Beach is enjoyed by beachgoers with thunderous and smelling exhaust of gasoline from cars and motorbikes. Meeting with mushroom down there is REALLY rare. But don’t despair. There is one remaining sweet shop in Fujisawa City, selling bean jelly with shoro. It is Fujisawa Toshimaya-honten 藤沢豊島屋本店 (; address 1-3-28 Honcho, Fujisawa City藤沢市本町1-3-28, phone 0466-22-2046).

Toshimaya-honten in Fujisawa City

I’ve been there and got one jelly; 972 yen for roughly 200g. I served it among Forest Instructors with a lengthy explanation and historical importance of such things in Kanagawa Prefecture. Look! We need to remember such tradition of loving natural bounty, blah-blah-blah. One very calm senior Instructor said, “Er, well, Naomi, but it tastes simply as sweet been jelly. Yes, it is good as a jelly, but where is the taste of mushroom!?” … True. I asked the matron of the sweet shop if they sell candid shoro mushroom. She smiled and said “These days, it’s so difficult to obtain the mushroom, and if you pay 100,000 yen for 100g of candid mushroom, we may think to sell the ingredient. In any case, the bean jelly has so small amount of mushroom. I’m sorry (and gentle smile again).” Here is a lesson to be learned about the mushrooms of Kanagawa. Be strong, mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi in Kanagawa’s forest now!

Red Bean Jelly from Toshimaya-honten.
 As red bean jelly, it’s delicious …
taste of mushrooms? Er, nope.

Clavulinopsis pulchra
 or
Neolecta irregularis (Peck) Korf & J.K. Rogers.
To make it sure which,
we have to check spores in microscope.

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/