Oyster Mushrooms For Clean environment

Oyster Mushrooms For Clean environment

I believe the most fascinating use of these mushrooms is their growing role inmycorestoration. Mycorestoration is the process of using mushrooms to decrease pollution levels in a given area.

Oyster mycelium is ravenous! It will eat through wood, paper, coffee grounds, and even petroleum products. Why will it decompose all these materials?

These mushrooms are found on hardwoods. They secrete enzymes that break down the organic bonds in wood into smaller molecules. The carbon-hydrogen bonds in wood are similar to those found in oil and pesticides. Thus due to their love of wood, oysters are also efficient in breaking down the organic bonds in toxic chemicals.

Imagine oil spills and pollution someday being decreased by mushrooms. This is the subject of numerous studies in polluted areas. One experiment is currently being performed by Matter of Trust, a non-profit group in San Francisco.

In Nov07 the freighter Cosco Busan spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco bay. Matter of Trust has partnered with famous mycologists to see if some of the spilled fuel can be removed by oyster mushrooms. Read about this fascinating ongoing experiment (and its political hurdles) here.

In addition to breaking down the organic bonds in oil, oyster mushrooms are also powerful absorbers of mercury. Their mycelium channels mercury from the ground up into the mushroom itself. Once the mushroom is picked and destroyed (obviously you wouldn't want to eat it!), the mercury is removed from the environment.

Heavy metal pollution is a serious problem all over the world. Just this morning (Aug08) I read an article about high mercury levels in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. What if someday we were able to remove toxic heavy metals like mercury from our soil and water by cultivating mushrooms?

Is it possible? Can we fix the terrible damage we've done to the environment through mushrooms? Plenty seem to think so. If mycorestoration is the wave of the future, oyster mushrooms will be leading the way!

Taken from http://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/