In this Pip Podcast, we chat to ecologist, author and environmental photographer Alison Pouliot about the diverse world of fungi and its importance in our ecological networks.
Once it was mushrooms attracting all the attention. They still are but the growing interest in mycelium and the notion of subterranean networks of fungi is changing not only how we understand fungi and forests, but life. Fungi provide a fundamental foundation to the forest and are a key to understanding how forests work.
For many of us, fungi are puzzling because we make sense of nature based on our understanding of animals and plants. That’s what we are taught in school. Fungi are often defined not by what they are, but by what they are not. Fungi are very different organisms to plants and animals in the way they are built and operate.
To grasp what fungi are and do in ecosystems, it helps to get a sense of how they grow and feed, the nature of their interactions with plants, and their pivotal role in transforming environments, recycling organic matter and creating soil.
Alison Pouliot is an ecologist, author and environmental photographer who focuses on the fascinating world of fungi.
In this Pip Podcast, we chat to Alison about the diverse world of fungi and its importance in our ecological networks. We learn about the interconnectedness of fungi with trees, plants and all life. And explore how fungi can be used in many different and diverse ways – from foraging and consuming fungi to making clothing and packaging products to medicinal uses.
The survival of most plants relies on their beneficial unions with fungi, or mycorrhizas, as it is known. Alison shares what we can do to help encourage fungi and therefore increase the health of our ecosystems.
We hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to check out Alison’s article on fungi in Issue #28 of Pip Magazine. Subscribe to get your copy here.
