Fungi Are Becoming Invaluable First Responders In Eco-Crises

Fungi Are Becoming Invaluable First Responders In Eco-Crises

Fungi Are Becoming Invaluable First Responders In Eco-Crises This story is part of Fungi Week, a deep dive into the myriad ways mushrooms and fungi make the planet a healthier place for all its inhabitants. It is supported by UPIC Health. When Mount Saint Helens in southwestern Washington erupted on the morning of May 18, 1980, the stratovolcano spewed a plume of debris high into the earth’s atmosphere and spread ash to at least eleven nearby states. The blast produced lahars — landslides of mud and ash — that barreled down the mountain, annihilating the landscape of evergreens and wildflowers in their wake. Images of the aftermath show a near-Martian landscape of grayscale rubble and broken-off tree trunks — an ecosystem that had seemingly been delivered a death blow. Geopyxis carbonaria, also known as the charcoal loving elf-cup, is a phoenicoid fungus. Its fruiting bodies are commonly found on soil where brush has recently been burned. Credit: Henri Koskinen / Shutterstock. But despite…