{"id":4570,"date":"2021-04-30T07:52:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T07:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=4570"},"modified":"2021-04-30T07:53:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T07:53:55","slug":"not-mush-room-for-error","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/weather-climate\/not-mush-room-for-error\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Mush-Room for Error"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Not Mush-Room for Error\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IxVB1dS9kmw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As spring continues to settle in, the outdoor temperatures are gradually getting warmer tempting us to venture outside, take in the natural landscape, and escape the indoor lifestyles we have grown so accustomed to throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. The time spent in nature will allow people to notice the little things like wild mushrooms, for example, growing adjacent to hiking trails and taking on a variety of shapes and features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kkl.org.il\/files\/HEBREW_FILES\/yeur-usviva\/yaar-magazine\/yaar-19\/yaar-19-israel-wild-mushrooms.pdf\">A new Israeli article<\/a> published in the JNF&#8217;s Forest Magazine highlights the importance of preserving wild mushroom populations in Israel\u2019s groves and forests and discusses the dangers associated with their disappearance due to overexploitation, intrusive land developments, and the global climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many believe that mushrooms are plants, but in fact, they are from a totally separate and unique kingdom in the natural world\u2014fungi. According to scientific estimates from 2017, there are roughly <a href=\"http:\/\/asmscience.org\/content\/journal\/microbiolspec\/10.1128\/microbiolspec.FUNK-0052-2016\">2.2-3.8 million species of fungi<\/a> in the world, while only about 120,000 have been identified and accepted as such by the scientific community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mushrooms play many important roles in the ecosystem; the main one being the decomposition and recycling of organic matter, which they perform with the help of a unique enzyme called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7105568\/#:~:text=Laccase%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most%20studied%20enzymes%20in%20the,especially%20the%20white%2Drot%20fungi.\">Lacasse<\/a>. \u201cIf it weren&#8217;t for the mushrooms, we would probably be buried underneath piles of organic debris today,\u201d says Dr. Dalia Levinson, a <a href=\"https:\/\/work.chron.com\/requirements-mycologist-16806.html\">mycologist<\/a> at the <a href=\"http:\/\/sri.org.il\/Home\">Shamir Research Institute<\/a> and author of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the process of decomposition, the fungus produces carbon and nitrogen compounds, which are important for plants to help them grow and survive.\u201d Alongside food and applications for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC123731\/\">penicillin<\/a> production, mushrooms can also be utilized as sustainable alternatives for <a href=\"https:\/\/namyco.org\/history_mushrooms_for_color.php\">dyes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10340-019-01117-5\">agricultural pesticides<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scientificamerican.com\/guest-blog\/making-furniture-from-fungi\/\">even furniture and walls<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to its geographical location, Israel has been blessed with a wide variety of mushroom diversity, which brings together the climates of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. \u201cIn Israel, there are about 750 identified species of fungi, some of which are intended for food, and there are probably many other species that have not yet been discovered,\u201d says Dr. Levinson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Threats to Wild Mushrooms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/krzysztof-niewolny-6YbiyrmRyd4-unsplash-2048x1368.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Their disappearance is due to overexploitation, intrusive land developments, and the global climate crisis. Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@epan5?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Krzysztof Niewolny<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/wild-mushroom?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the article, there has been accumulating evidence in recent years indicating the far-reaching effects of the climate crisis could harm various populations of wild mushrooms as some species of fungi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kkl.org.il\/files\/forests\/forest_magazine\/16\/Yaar_16_Dalia_Lewinsohn.pdf\">change their areas of distribution <\/a>according to the shifts taking place in the climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRising temperatures in the fall and spring seasons in Israel could lead to a decline in the wild mushroom population,\u201d says Dr. Levinson. \u201cThe mushrooms are relatively pampered\u2014each mushroom has the optimal combination of temperature, humidity, and amount of light that suits it. Change in the local climate leads some mushrooms to not appear on the date they\u2019re expected, or it causes them to not come out at all and skip a season.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the climate crisis is not the only factor that could damage wild Israeli mushrooms. Accelerated urbanization, reduction in the number of open areas, and over-utilization of land also plays a significant role in their decline as these types of developments easily disrupt and fragment mycelia, the mushroom\u2019s vegetative root-like system embedded in soil and other substrates. What can become a vast, intelligent spore network, the mycelium functions to absorb nutrients from the environment as well as exchange signaling information between other plants, including trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHuman development processes can damage mycelium hidden underground,\u201d says Dr. Levinson. \u201cFurthermore, the compacting of the ground by humans through our footsteps, cars, and machines also causes mycelial damage. That is exactly why in Mexico, for example, special paths have been created in the forest for those who want to view and collect mushrooms, which open and close depending on the number of visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much like the consequences of overfishing, another factor that impacts the abundance of wild mushrooms in Israel is over-collection. While mushroom collection is considered a nice recreational, outdoor activity for enthusiasts, it can be harmful when it\u2019s done excessively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn Israel, collecting edible mushrooms has become a trend, but some collectors do not always listen to the collection rules we are trying to impart to the public,\u201d says Dr. Levinson. \u201cMass collection has significant implications for the ecosystem in the forest and in general because picking the mushroom removes parts of its fungus, and it may prevent it from spreading spores and reproducing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says an example of this is the <a href=\"https:\/\/mushrooms.org.il\/item\/727\"><em>Tuber oligospermum<\/em><\/a> mushroom, a fungus that used to grow in huge quantities in pine tree groves during the 1950s. \u201cThis fungus has probably undergone massive harvesting and collection and is now very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Invest in Mushroom Protection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/andrew-ridley-bx0a2yq2hxs-unsplash-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Much like the consequences of overfishing, another factor that impacts the abundance of wild mushrooms in Israel is over-collection. Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@aridley88?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Andrew Ridley<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/wild-mushroom?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a>. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Many countries give considerable weight to the issue of wild mushrooms and invest a great deal of research effort in favor of their preservation as natural resources. To this end, there is a limit to how many mushrooms a person is allowed to pick along with other regulations in many different countries. Researchers from around the world have created lists of endemic fungal species (those that only exist in a restricted distribution area) in different countries. In fact, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) created the <a href=\"http:\/\/iucn.ekoo.se\/en\/iucn\/welcome\">Global Fungal Red List<\/a>, which contains yearly entries of fungal species threatened by habitat loss, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Israel, a collection of different species of wild mushrooms from as early as the 1990s by Prof. Salomon Wasser and his team from the Institute of Evolution at the University of Haifa, were transferred to the Shamir Institute for Research in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur intention is to increase this collection and enrich it as much as possible in order to bring it to a level where it will be a &#8216;bank&#8217; for wild mushrooms and serve as a national collection open to researchers and the general public in the future\u201d says Dr. Levinson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Levinson, however, Israel is behind when it comes to dealing with wild mushrooms. \u201cWe need to invest in research on the subject, so that we can learn what the diversity and distribution of mushrooms are in Israel, how the climate crisis affects them, whether there is a depletion of species richness or extirpation of species from Israel, whether harvesting has an effect on the mushroom population, and more,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeyond that, there is a large faction of collectors here in Israel, and we want to build groups of collectors that we can use in our research as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%AA%D7%AA%D7%A3-%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%99\/\">civil science<\/a>. But we cannot do that without a budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMushrooms are significant to our existence here, and they cannot be underestimated. If we do not instill a proper collection culture for wild mushrooms, as the Society for the Protection of Nature did on the issue of wildflower conservation (more than 50 years ago), we may wake up to a reality where many species of fungi will become extinct, and the entire ecosystem will change. Therefore, efforts should be made to instill appropriate collection culture and forest management while taking into account mushroom conservation and to create extensive collaborations between ecocentric organizations on the subject,\u201d she concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT Article was also published in <a href=\"https:\/\/jewishjournal.com\/commentary\/blogs\/336086\/not-mush-room-for-error\/\">The Jewish Journal<\/a> on 29 Apr. 2021<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As spring continues to settle in, the outdoor temperatures are gradually getting warmer tempting us to venture outside, take in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":4581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,10,8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1619769173:118"],"_oembed_dde7c9450580dd34424643a24ab2dd6e":["<iframe title=\"Not Mush-Room for Error\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IxVB1dS9kmw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>"],"_oembed_time_dde7c9450580dd34424643a24ab2dd6e":["1619768525"],"_edit_last":["118"],"subtitle":["A new Israeli study reveals the threats currently facing wild mushroom populations in Israel. What needs to be done, and what needs to change in order to ensure their presence and diversity for the climatically grim years ahead?"],"_subtitle":["field_59d3d36ea7fe1"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_thumbnail_id":["4581"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4570"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4588,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4570\/revisions\/4588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}