Can trees and fungi revolutionise forest management?

At a commercial tree nursery near Evans, western Louisiana, 5m pine seedlings are packed on to 12 vast circular irrigation tables, each as wide as a football field. Last September, many of these young trees were sprayed with what looked like muddy water.

The substance was in fact a liquid extract teeming with hundreds of species of wild soil fungi. Brad Ouseman, the nursery manager, is confident he will see results from this fungal inoculation, which is intended to improve yields and reduce the need for artificial fertilisers.

“By the time January gets here, you’ll tell the difference between that seedling and this seedling,” Ouseman says, pointing to separate rows of sprayed and non-sprayed pines.

Colin Averill, the founder of Funga, the startup company that supplied the spray, likens the treatment to a faecal microbiome transplant for young pine trees. Where medics now successfully treat certain bowel conditions by transferring gut microbes from healthy donors into patients, Funga treats young pine trees with wild microbes derived from the soils of thriving pine forests.

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Source: The Guardian
Image credit: Funga