Fungi come in from the cold to fruit twice a year

[nabraxas]

* 14 April 2007

* Andy Coghlan

* Magazine issue 2599

IT IS perhaps the most striking example of how global warming is turning up the heat on the world's wildlife. Across the UK, wild mushrooms are reproducing twice a year instead of the usual once, the first time climate change has been reported to affect the life cycle of any organism in this way.

Many fungus species spend their lives in the soil as a fibrous mat called a mycelium. Once a year they reproduce, forming the fruiting bodies that are the familiar caps and stools that litter forest floors. In the UK, this used to happen around September, during the onset of the British autumn. All that has changed now.

Within just 50 years, many fungi have doubled the length of their breeding season from 33 days on average to 74, according to a survey of 315 species conducted by by Alan Gange of Royal Holloway, University of London ...

http://environment.newscientist.com/channe...ice-a-year.html

[Ace]

Damn, that is a bit messed up. And I had heard on the radio just this morning that Little Johnny Howard wont make any agreements to cut greenhouse gasses because the Aussie economy would be in danger - FFS, if we dont sort out the environment, we wont have a planet to inhabit, let alone a fucking economy!!

On a nicer note - at least this could benefit the mushroom lovers around the globe

[gomaos]

well talk about it...

worst drought in Brisbane ever, it hardly rained all summer...

never happened before...

I just ordered a rain water tank but if it never rains again the money is wasted...

[ENtiTY]

Would the rain water in brissy even be worth drinking? Lot of pollution would settle on your roof wouldn't it Gomaos?

Be better than the tap water though I suppose.

[ThunderIdeal]

most people get tanks to water their gardens and wash their car. if you intend to drink the water you will be going for a slightly different setup. underground tanks are ideal for drinking water, also you can have a simple mechanism that doesn't allow the first bit of rain to go in the tank, so your cachment area gets rinsed before the tank starts filling.

i don't know about pollution being an issue. i doubt it is an issue. a little bit of light acid rain never hurt anyone! anyway you can always get a filter installed in your sink.