The go-ahead has been given for an applied research project between Portage College and the northwestern Alberta community of Fox Creek that will shed light on the role fungi could play in reducing forest fire hazards. The project could also help keep important nutrients in the ecosystem.

Michael Schulz is the Research Chair in Environment and Sustainability in the Boreal Forest at Portage College, and the principal investigator on the project. Schulz is also an Environmental Technologist Diploma program instructor at the College. He says the idea is to find the best wood-composting species of fungi and inoculate them directly into forested areas where man-made slash piles, and other waste wood is normally burned intentionally during commercial logging operations and development. The same wood piles can also become significant fuel sources during a forest fire.

Portage College's Michael Schulz explains some of the fungi research plans.

Finding the Fungus

“Our research using wood-decomposing fungi is trying to do something that has very practical applications,” says Schulz, who holds a Master of Science degree in Ecology and has spent his professional career studying fungi and lichens, their biodiversity, decomposing abilities and ecology. In recent years, he has performed conservation assessments and data collection for Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Wild Species Reports on all 4,635 species of macrofungi in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Many of those species will be stored in a specially created ‘fungarium’ that was recently created at Portage College through a partnership with the Alberta Mycological Society. The fungarium is a new Alberta archive to be used for research, education and data collection.

“There is a huge diversity in fungi within all kinds of fungal groups that can decompose wood in our ecosystems. Knowing who is doing what, and why they are in the habitats they are in, will help in the practical application we hope to find in this project,” Schulz said.

The plan for the project ­– which is to span at least three years – is to collect species of fungi from a research area of the forested lands near Fox Creek, bring the fungi samples back to the Portage College Environmental Sciences labs, catalogue them and examine their individual wood-decomposing abilities in ideal laboratory conditions.

A “top 10” collection of fungi with the best results will then be put back into the forest areas, targeting slash piles and areas where waste wood has been collected.

Adding Moisture to the Forest

Schulz says the fungi create moisture in the wood as the decomposition process takes place, reducing the flammability. The decomposition process also converts the wood into the biomass of the fungi itself, which can be a source of nourishment for small insects and other members of the food chain.

“The hope is that with inoculating the wood with the right fungi, it will help to retain moisture, more-so to reduce the flammability as soon as the fungi start to grow and colonize… but also a lot is turning into the biomass of the fungus itself, and that biomass is going to be eaten by critters and mites and what not, which are then eaten by larger prey. That’s how most of the nutrient cycle in terrestrial ecosystems start, through that de-compositional food chain.”

Using the fungal decomposition process instead of simply burning the wood piles, says the research project lead, offers a win-win from standpoints of ecology and safety.

“We see this research helping to promote that ecosystem function rather than putting the deadfall and waste wood into piles and burning it,” he said, adding that the burning process – when done correctly ­– can be safe, but rapid combustion doesn’t return as much nutrient value back to nature. “It creates carbon that otherwise would go back into the ecosystem, but instead is lost to the air as greenhouse gasses,” he said, adding that the fungal decomposition process – not surprisingly - is a slower process that steadily replenishes the land. “The nutrients flow more slowly rather than the explosive, rapid release of a burn.”

A ceremony to begin the research project was held on March 14 in Fox Creek, with representatives in attendance from the provincial government, the Fox Creek community and College representatives including Schulz and Dr. Donna Feledichuk the Vice President Academic and Research at Portage College.

“We are excited to be partnering with Fox Creek on this important study. It is a great example of community, industry and colleges working together to find innovative solutions to complex problems,” said Feledichuk, explaining that the seven campus locations of Portage College in rural northeast Alberta relate closely with the unique geography of the northern region. “As a rural college located in the Boreal Forest, we have great expertise in the area of environmental science as it relates to forest ecology. We are pleased to play an integral role in applied research in this area.”

Fox Creek Mayor Sheila Gilmour says the ground-breaking initiative is a testament to the power of science, collaboration and forward-thinking solutions to address one of the most pressing challenges of recent times – wildfires. To explore these solutions, she said, is a “responsibility we owe to our future generations.”

Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen was also at the recent announcement event. Starting his presentation with a ‘dad joke’ about the mushroom being the ‘fun-gi’ at the party, he said this research party’s invite list includes educational institutions, communities, the provincial government, organizations and business – and the fungi are welcome guests of honour.

“This project is about inviting mushrooms to the party – not just because they are the ‘fun-gi’, but also for what they do in breaking down the debris on the ground,” he said. “Sometimes the smallest part of the forest can make the biggest difference.”

Davis Prizgintas, the economic development coordinator for the Town of Fox Creek was integral in piecing together the partnerships for the research project. He hopes the mycological study will reduce the number and severity of wildfires, saving lives, money and the environment.

“We are letting nature do the work,” he said.

Fox Creek’s Emergency Management Coordinator Samantha Benton shares the same hope.

“Each year we see the impact that wildfires have on our town and across Alberta,” she said, drawing statistics from 2023 that showed more than 2.2 million hectares of Alberta land scorched by wildfires, forcing thousands of people to evacuate, destroying ecosystems, and costing billions in damages and restoration. “These fires are getting bigger, they are burning hotter, and they are spreading faster … So, this is more than a research project, this is a potential game-changer for wildfire prevention.”

Fun Facts About Fungi

Did you know?

* More than 80 percent of the energy used in the terrestrial food chain begins at the decomposition and fungal level. Less than 20 percent of energy in the food chain comes after vegetation is consumed by the first animal.

* Portage College in Lac La Biche is home to the province’s only active fungarium, a vast storage repository of fungus species. The fungarium will be used for data collection, education and research.

* The largest organism in the world is a fungus. The “Humungous Fungus” uses its network of mycelium fibres to cover an underground area of 931 square hectares (about 900 CFL football fields) in rural Oregon.

* Fungi are common allies in global healthcare, producing compounds like penicillin which comes from Penicillium mold.

* Fungi can be used in the production of products like cotton, paper and biofuels, replacing chemicals that may react more harshly.

* Fungi can take the shape of not only mushrooms, but yeasts and molds as well. Fungi are also shaped as jellies, crusts, cups, rusts, smuts and clubs. One species, known as the Jelly Ear Fungus has the shape of a human ear, another, nicknamed Dead Man’s Fingers, can look like a hand emerging from the soil.

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