Fungi play important roles in many ecosystems, however they are
often ignored in ecological studies. Suggestions have been made
that, should the world’s large mammals suddenly disappear,
most ecosystems would probably continue to function, but if the
fungi disappeared, many of the earth’s ecosystems would soon
collapse. Now that’s something to think about! Within
forests, fungi decompose litter and logs, cause many plant
diseases, and even grow within roots of most plants to increase
nutrient uptake from soil.
It is well accepted that fire and the Australian bush go hand in
hand, but disturbance from fire can affect fungi and may influence
these essential functions they perform within forests. Much
research on fire in Australian forests has been done; we know about
minimising risk to people and property with prescribed burning, and
we know how our native plants and animals respond to fire, but what
about the fungi? Despite their importance, their widespread
occurrence, and their enormous diversity, a great deal about fungal
ecology, biology and relationships with plants remains a
mystery.
The PhD project I am working on aims to remove some of this
mystery by looking at fungi in Australian forests and how they are
affected by fire. I am focusing on the responses of mushrooms and
belowground fungi to fuel reduction burning in mixed eucalypt
forests. Using new and old methods I am investigating the function
of different types of fungi, measuring species diversity and
estimating the amount and types of fungi in the soil to see how
regular low intensity burning influences fungal communities.
Results of this study will contribute to the limited information on
fungal ecology in Australia and increase our understanding of fire
effects on forest biodiversity.
Project Link: B 3.1 Impacts of fire on ecological
processes and biodiversity
