Mycorrhizas, mushrooms, irrigation and reforestation

Abstract

China plans to increase forested areas so they cover more than a quarter of her land area by 2050. Many of the trees that will be used in the afforestation/reforestation programmes will be ectomycorrhizal species. For these trees to grow well and survive they are best inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi in the nursery. If not they may sulk before picking up mycorrhizal fungi from the outplant site, or die. A brief study of plants in the Tibet Academy of Forest Science greenhouse suggests that not all species are infected with mycorrhizal fungi at planting. Similarly, some trees used for motorway and city beautification projects also seem to be devoid of mycorrhizas. Clearly, some background information on mycorrhizas and their importance in forestry is timely. We will also outline some of the work that Dr Ian R. Hall and the mushroom group headed by Professor Xiong Wei Ping of the Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Sciences staff carried out on macro mushrooms between 2014 and 2016.

Full text

Mycorrhizas, mushrooms, irrigation and reforestation
Ian R. HALL
Truffles and Mushrooms (Consulting) Ltd, P.O. Box 268, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
and
XIONG Wei Ping
Institute of Vegetable Research，Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Sciences
147 West Jinzhu Road, Lhasa 850032, Tibet, China
A paper presented at the
International Economic Fungi Conference
& 229th Chinese Academy of Engineering Forum on
Engineering, Science and Technology of China Economic Fungi Forum,,
Longquan, China, 10 September 2016
Summary
China plans to increase forested areas so they cover more than a quarter of her land area by 2050. Many of the trees that will be
used in the afforestation/reforestation programmes will be ectomycorrhizal species. For these trees to grow well and survive
they are best inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi in the nursery. If not they may sulk before picking up mycorrhizal fungi from
the outplant site, or die. A brief study of plants in the Tibet Academy of Forest Science greenhouse suggests that not all species
are infected with mycorrhizal fungi at planting. Similarly, some trees used for motorway and city beautification projects also
seem to be devoid of mycorrhizas. Clearly, some background information on mycorrhizas and their importance in forestry is
timely.
We will also outline some of the work that Dr Ian R. Hall and the mushroom group headed by Professor Xiong Wei Ping of the
Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Sciences staff carried out on macro mushrooms between 2014 and 2016.