Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Nearby: Isabel Salcedo

Isabel Salcedo, an expert in mycology and professor at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), explains the function of fungi, their condition and the threats they face.

Hello I am Isabel Salcedo Larralde and I work in the Department of Plant Biology of the UPV/EHU in the field of botany and my research work focuses on mycology.

I studied biology. I started here in this school and as I had a special rage to learn plants, I decided to go to Salamanca. There was a specialty that cultivated plants in it and I went there. Then here in the faculty, when the line of Basque began to strengthen by the hand of José Mari Txurruka, I presented myself to a square. Since we were going to start doing research, I contacted some people from Madrid who worked with mushrooms. That’s how I started and started working with mushrooms.

They are much more important than we think. A group of mushrooms somehow makes the end of the cycle. Known as saprobios, they feed on dead matter. They are able to transform the organic matter that remains in ecosystems into inorganic matter for use by the rest of the living. They play an indispensable role in the geochemical precessions of the trophic chain. Sometimes we say that they are the first known recyclers in nature. Of one, only a few!

On the other hand, others, known as mycorrhizals, associate with the roots of plants and help plants to obtain various foods that are essential to them. Therefore, this interaction is essential for the continuation of the world as we know it today.

What happens is that some fungi are known, especially those that develop a fruiting or mushroom body. It is true that in a few studies that have been carried out on them it is observed that some, some species, are losing their ecosystem because their habitat is being lost; others, because of pollution, are located in a negative situation... But there are several fungi that we barely know and we have very little or little information about them.

Fungi suffer from the same problems that they suffer with the rest of the living. The most important thing is the degradation and disappearance of ecosystems. Then there is also contamination, because ultimately these organisms are in the root. Sometimes they're under the pressure of lifting. But sometimes it is not the pressure of receiving, but the effect of the same action. The crushing of the earth, etc., transforms the basic ecosystem for these organisms. We also have some fungi that are later invaded, but very little is known about it. Some species have begun to appear suddenly, it is impossible to go unnoticed being so striking. This means that they are new to our ecosystem and are appearing prominently. So we think that they can be considered invaders.

With what we have seen, without always having data that can guarantee objectivity, for the moment it seems that they do not displace other species. But sometimes, seeing their appearance, their presence, we think they have to do something in the short term.

Some are starting to show up. Some of them are saprobio lignicoles, in wood. Like a species called Hjortstamia crassa, its color is purple and striking in the world of mushrooms, until now it has not been collected in samples and we find it suddenly in different places. It is true that it is sometimes found in baccharis plants, which is an alogton, but we have also found it in eucalyptus, as well as in oak, beech... In several sampled places, and until now we did not see it. We do not know how this species has been introduced and the question mark is huge because it is suddenly being drunk.

I believe that regulation is necessary, but always with information, seeing what those who dedicate themselves to it do and without copying what is done elsewhere. That's what he's doing at the moment. We did a little work around that. We tried to collect interests, frequencies, some data through a survey. The objective was to know the profile of the mushrooms here. We saw that regulations are being put in place in different places and sometimes they are too hard; without previous research, without information. And we saw that there are people who are willing to respect a number of specific rules if they allow them to follow their own habits.

I believe that a minimum of regulation must be put in place, that people must realize that unrestrained pressure leads to extinction. This has happened in several things, anchovies...