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Feb 2022
57m 21s

Fire Loving Fungi

Alex Dorr
About this episode

Burn sites create unlikely food for today’s fungal topic: pyrophilous— or fire-loving, fungi. Today on the show we welcome Dr. Monika Fischer, who has been studying fungi that thrive in post-fire ecosystems. We discuss how wildfires change ecosystems, the roles that fungi play in their recovery and protection, and how scientists go about studying them.

Topics Covered:

  • What makes a fungus a fire-adapted species?
  • Current state of wildfire events 
  • Organisms and ecosystems that rely on fire
  • Variations in wildfires and how various fungi respond
  • Mycological properties of fire-adapted fungi
  • How fire-loving fungi are germinated and cultivated in the lab
  • Mycoremediation and fungal enzymology of fire-adapted fungi


Show Notes:

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