THE common red mushroom, Lactarius Deliciosus, which is found growing wild in Cyprus and is enjoyed by many people when in season, could hold the key to making the island green once more.
“The aim in Cyprus is to have 30 per cent forest cover.” said Dr Nicolas Jarraud of UNDP-ACT. “Of course in antiquity it was 80 per cent but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
Dr Jarraud works with a UN programme aiming to reforest both sides of the island. The key to the process is mycorrhizae, a symbiotic relationship formed between a fungus and the root structure of the plant.
The red mushroom we see in most Cypriot woodland is the fruiting body of the vast subterranean structures which form the mycorrhizae.
Though it was only discovered and named towards the end of the 19th century, the vast majority of adult photosynthesising plants are in this symbiotic relationship.
“Eighty per cent of plants have these things. It is ubiquitous, like ‘The Force’ in Star Wars.” commented Jarraud.
Younger plants, however, often do not have this benefit, and thus are more likely to die due to harsh conditions, such as lack of water or soil nutrients. The aim, therefore, would be to include mycorrhisation as part of the process of planting saplings.
Field tests have been done in Chatos (Serdarli) with the indigenous pinus brutus and Aleppo pines to test the survival of mycorrhized plants against non-mycorrhized plants under extreme conditions.
The testing was carried out in an abandoned gypsum mine and the newly-planted saplings were not watered for two summers. Eighty per cent of the pinus brutus plants without mycorrhizae died, compared to only 40 per cent of the ones with mycorrhizae.
With mycorrhizae the filaments of the fungus actually penetrate the root structure of the plant in a manner very reminiscent of pathogenic infection. In fact, for the first few weeks, the process actually has a negative effect on the health of the plant.
Thereafter the main effect of mycorrhization is that it expands enormously the volume of soil used by the plant for water and nutrient absorption as it produces lots of little, hair-like filaments on the plants own simpler root structure. A finer and more spread-out root structure results.
This enhanced root network also results in the improvement of the soil’s own structure and its water retention abilities. That, in turn improves the chances of further vegetative growth and helps prevent soil erosion and flooding.
Apart from reforestation the main application of mycorrhization is in organic farming, where it helps plant health and survival in the absence of fertilisers and pesticides.
“Desertification as a result of human activities has been around for thousands of years. You just have to go to Tunisia to see that,” commented Professor John Carroll of the University of Georgia at a recent workshop on Cyprus’ vulnerability to climate change.
With an average annual rainfall of only 480mm, increasing global temperatures due to global warming and water scarcity, the risks would indeed seem significant.
However, reforestation combined with mycorrhization to improve plant survival rates, soil consistency and water retention is a good example of how the trend towards desertification can be reversed and increased green coverage results.
