Soundwaves accelerate the growth of soil fungi that could help repair ecosystem
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Fungi growing on compost at the root zone of a tree at East Coast Park Area B on Jan 12, 2024.
These fungi appear on compost as compost is made from spent mushroom substrate and/or wood waste. They will go away once the media dries out or if there is a lower concentration of undecomposed organic matter. Most fungi grow and multiply rapidly under warm and moist conditions. They are not plants as they do not make their own food. They grow on living or dead organism and absorb nutrients from them.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, and while they look delicious it is generally not recommended that you eat them. The tropics has a massive diversity of fungi, some of which can be poisonous.
Fungi are important decomposers and are key to breaking down woody plant material into nutrients that can be taken up by plants. Soil, compost, and organic mulch that has a lot of woody material will have more mushrooms appearing, particularly during the wet season, and should not cause alarm.
(ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI)
[Reference from https://gardeningsg.nparks.gov.sg/page-index/biodiversity/soil-biodiversity/ and https://www.straitstimes.com/life/home-design/root-awakening-mushrooms-pest-problems-underwatered-plants-and-more]](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/straitstimes/f0eb8d964531939169ec1710b181799471ceb6db50b2e77d5781d4b80b610d29?w=480)
Some fungi could grow up to five times faster when exposed to increased sound levels.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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CANBERRA – An Australian study has discovered that soundwaves can accelerate soil fungi growth, unlocking the potential for improved ecosystem recovery.
The study, which was published by researchers from Flinders University on Jan 30, recorded rapid acceleration in soil fungi growth when exposed to sounds in a controlled environment.
Dr Jake Robinson, a microbial ecologist at Flinders University and co-author of the research, said the findings showed the potential for eco-acoustics to support ecosystem restoration, food production and composting. Eco-acoustics is the study of the relationship, mediated through sound, between organisms and their environment.
“More than 75 per cent of the world’s soils are degraded, so we need to take radical steps to reverse the trend and start restoring biodiversity,” he said in a media release.
“This research surprised us when one common plant growth-promoting fungi increased its initial number of spore cells biomass by almost five times compared to the control group where soundwaves were at ambient levels.”
The researchers buried regular tea bags to enable the growth of biomass as their organic contents degraded and subjected them to different levels of noise over 14 days.
They found that those that were exposed to high-pitched monotone soundwaves at approximately 80 decibels (dBs) for up to eight hours a day produced more fungi growth than a control group subjected to 30 dBs of noise.
Study co-author Martin Breed said that in addition to paving the way for improved vegetation regrowth, the findings could also lead to the reintroduction of lost species. XINHUA
