Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

By Dr. Markho Rafael

Paul Stamets' Mycelium Running is a must have reference book for anyone working the land in any form, whether it be farming, forest management or environmental cleanup. But also for people who, like me, enjoy growing things, especially delectable edibles.

The book is a treasure trove of useful practical information on what Stamets refers to as mycofiltration (of water), mycoremediation (of toxic waste), and tips on how mushroom mycelium can help improve soils and boost productivity in farming and forestry with less use of pesticides and fertilizers.

A detailed description of Mycofiltration, the use of mushrooms to filter waste water, is given in one section of the book. It lists recommended mushroom species and materials to use in creating the mycofiltration bed, as well as dimensions, depth, layers, etc. Mycofiltration beds like this can be effectively used for both industrial waste water and farm runoff.

An added benefit of using mycofiltration beds on farms include the production of delicious food mushrooms, which sprout out of these beds. And every 2-3 years, the material in the bed can be dug out and used as a rich fertilizer on the fields of the farm.

Benefits of no-till farming are described in terms of how it supports saprophytic soil fungi, which in turn help protect the soil from erosion as well as break down organic matter at a rate that is better paced to benefit plant life than if the stubble were to be plowed under and broken down by anaerobic bacteria.

Saprophytic fungi benefit forests too, by breaking down organic matter but also help by competing with parasitic fungi (blights), which may kill thousands of trees if not stopped. Foresters can easily seed saprophytic mushrooms in blight infested areas as a natural fungicide against parasitic fungi, fighting fire with fire.

Mycorrhizal fungi likewise can be seeded to support tree growth, or these beneficial fungi may simply be encouraged to grow naturally through smarter and more enlightened forest management.

Most plants form symbiotic relationships with mushrooms. The mushroom mycelium more effectively absorbs water and nutrients, exchanged with trees for sugars, making the trees healthier and more drought resistant. Mycorrhizal fungi also provide trees with natural antibiotics against pathogens.

Another cutting edge technology in Mycelium Running is Mycoremediation, the neutralization of toxins through the use of mushroom mycelium. The term Mycoremediation was coined by Paul Stamets, author of Mycelium Running, but was already in common use among mycologists before publication.

Contaminants that may be effectively mycoremediated include, but are not limited to, heavy metals, pathological bacteria (such as E. coli), petrochemicals, neurotoxins, dioxin, toxic dyes and other toxic industrial waste.

At $50 per ton, mycoremediation is a very cost effective method to clean up toxic waste. Conventional incineration may cost upwards of $1,500 per ton.

All that is just in the first half of this 300-page book; the second half is an instruction manual on growing your own mushrooms and mycelia, which is something that may be of interest to forest managers for mycoforestry, environmentalists for mycoremediation, farmers for increasing soil productivity, and the rest of us for growing our own gourmet mushrooms for food and medicine. In other words, this is a book for anyone and everyone. - 32395

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