Remediation

Integrating Mushroom Production With Agricultural Waste Management

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Integrating mushroom production with agricultural waste management can help farms and agricultural businesses make better use of suitable by-products. Instead of treating every residue as a disposal problem, a business can assess whether some materials are appropriate for growing mushrooms, while directing unsuitable materials to composting, mulching, anaerobic digestion, recycling, or controlled disposal. This approach … Read more

Combining Native Planting and Fungal Systems

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Restoring a damaged local site rarely depends on one technique. Native planting and fungal systems can sometimes support one another, combining the strengths of living vegetation with the less visible work of fungi in soil, mulch and organic materials. Used carefully, this approach may help community groups, residents and land managers improve soil condition, reduce … Read more

Mycofiltration for Urban Stormwater

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Urban stormwater carries water from roofs, roads, car parks, footpaths and other hard surfaces into drains, waterways or storage areas. Along the way, it may collect sediment, nutrients, hydrocarbons, metals, litter and other contaminants. Councils commonly manage these risks through practices such as sediment controls, rain gardens, wetlands, swales, gross pollutant traps and treatment systems. … Read more

Mycofiltration for Farm Drainage Water

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Farm drainage water can carry soil, nutrients, organic matter, pathogens, salts, pesticides, metals or other substances away from fields and working areas. Managing that water may require a combination of source control, storage, settling, filtration and treatment. Mycofiltration is one approach that may be considered in suitable situations, particularly where a low-energy biological treatment step … Read more

Pilot-Scale Mycoremediation Projects for Local Authorities

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Mycoremediation uses fungi, or fungal materials associated with a growing medium, to help reduce, transform, contain or monitor environmental contamination. Some fungi produce enzymes that can break down certain complex organic compounds. Fungal networks can also influence how water and contaminants move through soil or other substrates. These capabilities make fungi a possible tool for … Read more

Fungal Systems for Urban Waterway Restoration

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Urban waterways receive pressure from many directions: stormwater runoff, leaking infrastructure, industrial land uses, eroded soil, litter and contaminated sediments. Councils commonly respond with drainage improvements, sediment removal, constructed wetlands, filtration, source control and other established measures. Fungi-based systems may provide an additional tool in some settings, but they should be treated as site-specific environmental … Read more

Using Straw and Agricultural Residues in Fungal Environmental Systems

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Straw and other agricultural residues can be useful building blocks in fungal environmental systems. On a lifestyle block, materials such as cereal straw, hay that is no longer suitable for feed, wood shavings, husks, stalks, and other plant residues may provide structure, moisture-holding capacity, or a food source for selected fungi. These materials are not … Read more

Using Fungi in School Environmental Projects

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Fungi can be a useful way for schools and local communities to explore environmental care, biology and practical problem-solving. In some situations, fungi may help support the breakdown of organic materials or contribute to the improvement of soil and growing systems. However, fungi are not a universal clean-up solution. Their usefulness depends on the environmental … Read more

Using Spent Mushroom Substrate Around a Lifestyle Property

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Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is the growing material left after mushrooms have been harvested. It may contain materials such as straw, sawdust, wood fibre, composted plant matter, manure or other ingredients used by the mushroom grower. It usually also contains moisture and some remaining organic matter, but its exact contents and condition can vary considerably. … Read more