Fungi growth signals fire recovery at Napperby Block

Friends of the Telowie Gorge Conservation Park gathered on July 14 to go on a fungi hunt organised by Natural Resources Northern and Yorke, to identify fungi growing in the fire affected area.

Southern Flinders and Upper North Community Ranger Sarah Voumard, along with Upper North NRM Group member Geraldine Davis, invited fungi expert Pam Catcheside to attend the event to help identify fungi in the area.

“To the untrained eye, the fungi can be quite difficult to spot, but once you know what you’re looking for and you get your eye in it’s much easier to see,” Ms Voumard says.

“Pam is currently on a fungi collecting trip across the state, so we were fortunate to have her involvement as she was able to show us different kinds of fungi and explain the role that fungi plays as a coloniser, recycler, and through symbiotic partnership with plants.”

Ms Voumard says the discovery of fungi growing in the Napperby Block is a positive sign that the area is recovering well after the bushfire.

“Fungi plays an important and largely unrecognised role in the recovery of the post fire environment,” she says.

“It is a good indicator that recovery is occurring in an area following a fire, including the production of sugars which help bind the soil together, providing nutrients for the next successors and reducing soil PH.”

Ms Voumard said the fungi exploration day gave Friends of the Telowie Gorge an opportunity to see first-hand that the environment is regenerating.

“The friends have noticed that the northern hill slopes are greening up with native and exotic vegetation, however in general, the southern slopes continue to look bare,” she says.

“The fungi exploration day highlighted that small changes in the environment such as the existence of fungi, play a role in the recovery of the environment following the Bangor fire and floods.

“We can be confident that the area is well on the way to recovery.”