A backyard mycofilter is a small, planted or mulch-filled area designed to slow ordinary garden runoff and help remove some suspended material before the water moves farther through the landscape. It uses fungal-colonised organic material as one part of a wider biological filtration system. Woodchips, straw, soil, roots, stems and vegetation all contribute by slowing … Read more
Fungal filter beds are a form of nature-based treatment that uses fungi, together with a suitable growing material and supporting microorganisms, to help reduce or transform some pollutants in farm-related water or organic waste streams. They are sometimes considered within mycoremediation—the use of fungi in environmental treatment—but they are not a universal filter or a … Read more
A rain garden is a planted landscape feature that receives runoff, slows its movement, and holds water temporarily while it soaks into the ground or moves safely toward an overflow route. It is not a pond, nor does it need to remain wet. With suitable soil, plants, mulch, and organic matter working together, a rain … Read more
Fungi can become a useful part of a farm’s system for handling organic residues, especially materials that are slow to break down through ordinary composting. Straw, stalks, husks, woody prunings, forestry residues and other clean plant-based materials contain carbon compounds that fungi are well adapted to decompose. With suitable preparation and management, fungal activity can … Read more
Laboratory research is where many mycoremediation ideas begin. In a flask, column, soil jar or small reactor, researchers can determine whether a fungal strain tolerates a contaminant, transforms it, or captures it on living or dead biomass. These studies are essential because they reveal mechanisms, identify promising organisms and generate the kinetic and toxicity data … Read more
When rain falls on a forest or open soil, much of it can infiltrate, evaporate or move slowly through vegetation. In a city, roofs, roads, driveways, car parks and other impervious surfaces interrupt those pathways. Water runs off more quickly and in greater volume, often reaching drains, streams and coastal waters before soil, plants or … Read more
Garden “waste” is often a useful biological resource waiting to be processed. Fallen leaves, small branches, woody prunings, straw and other suitable plant materials contain carbon and nutrients that can return to the soil rather than leaving the garden’s productive cycle. Fungi are especially important in this process. They are major decomposers of plant material, … Read more
Woodchip-based treatment systems are increasingly used to manage nitrate in agricultural drainage, especially where subsurface tile drains collect water and deliver it to ditches, streams or wetlands. These systems use a contained bed of woodchips as a carbon source and habitat for microorganisms. They are often called woodchip bioreactors. Fungi may naturally colonise the wood … Read more
Mycofiltration is the use of organic filter media colonised by fungal mycelium to help manage water or runoff. The fungal network may contribute to physical entrapment, adsorption, microbial interactions and, in some circumstances, enzymatic transformation of contaminants. However, it remains an emerging and insufficiently standardised approach. A responsible community project should therefore treat mycofiltration as … Read more
Urban green infrastructure already works through living systems. Rain gardens, bioswales, urban forests, planted drainage systems, wetlands, green corridors, parks and other soil-based stormwater features bring together water, plants, soil, microbes and organic matter. Their performance depends on how these components interact: vegetation slows and uses water, soil stores and filters it, organic matter supports … Read more