Ecosystem Interrupted
Sewage Sludge Disposal around here begins on a tree farm in the Snoqualmie Forests of eastern King County, WA, adjacent to wetlands, streams and the Snoqualmie River. The forest is a dumping ground for sewage sludge in need of quick disposal, by the thousands of tons per year.
The toxic sewage sludge kills most microbial representatives of the soil microbiome, which describes the forest soil microbial ecosphere, a self-sustaining, living ecosystem. This leaves but a few toxin-tolerant or toxin-metabolizing fungi to carry on the work.
The poisoned forest must now rely upon yet more doses of toxic sewage sludge for its nutrients and micronutrients, like an addict needing his heroin, as in, forever. The natural soil microbes are no longer there to decompose naturally the organic matter of the forest floor, which provides essential nutrients in the process; they are replaced now by alien microbes on a different mission.
The next step reveals colonization of the disposed toxic sludge by the few remaining natural fungi that can accommodate toxic insult, followed by the formation of fungal fruiting structures, or mushrooms, as a last-ditch effort at survival; they must reproduce in the face of death.
In meeting the objectives of the first Experiment.com project, we captured and identified the few toxic waste-accommodating fungi in these forests, and have them now growing in pure culture in the lab. While still puzzled by the trigger or key that will incite fruiting structure formation in this lab situation, we continue to learn the best culture media and methods that will be used in the next experiment.
Achieving in vitro culture was a very good day.
A well-sludged tree farm, but you can't see the sludge from here. Look closely.
Fresh sewage sludge on the forest floor; it will remain here for years.
Beginning fungal colonization of the fresh sewage sludge by toxin-tolerant fungi.
New Mycena spp. mushrooms, months after sludge disposal on the forest floor.
They often form mushrooms in clusters from a common base.
Mycena spp. mycelium growing in the lab in pure culture on sterilized woody debris.
Mycena spp. growing on sterilized wood pieces from the forest floor.
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