There is a lot of information online these days about wildfires and climate change, but a recent article by Claire Carlson on Sierra Nevada Ally really snagged my attention with its emphasis on mushrooms.
Trent Blizzard's photo captured this
burn morel in all its beauty!
Carlson's article quoted several sources, including Kristen and Trent Blizzard, owners of Modern Forager, who create burn maps of the western states for foragers. "Since the Blizzards started tracking morels nearly a decade ago, they have noticed a change in morel growth throughout the west." In fact, “One of the interesting changes is that as fires have gotten worse, they’ve charred the forests beyond even what the morels will pop up after. Some of these hard fires are just moonscaping the forest,” reported Trent Blizzard.
“As more of the landscape turns to younger forest, you’ll certainly see a shift in the fungi associated with that forest,” stated mycologist Thomas Bruns, a professor emeritus of UC Berkeley. “Things we might refer to as late-stage fungi that show up in mature forests are going to be harder to find, and some of those are going to be some of your favorite species like chanterelles or matsutake.”
The article concludes with this thought-provoking statement as to what the future holds: "For most research related to how mushrooms are being impacted by climate change and increasing wildfires, only time will tell the long-term effect of hotter and more fire-conducive weather on forests and fungi."