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• Cairns Botanic Gardens fungi report 2022 update • Volunteer Comments -
Cairns Botanic Gardens fungi report 2022 update
BARRY MUIR
The role of botanic gardens as repositories for fungal conservation is now well recognised. Botanic gardens in Kew (England), New York and Denver (USA), Melbourne (Australia), Komarov (near St Petersburg, Russia), Paris (France), Kunming (China), Xalapa (Mexico), and Cuba now house both preserved collections of fungi and living communities of fungi. Of course, many parks and gardens support fungal populations by default, even if not a recognised part of their management plan. The Cairns Botanic Garden Precinct (the Precinct), for example, is known to support at least 224 species of large fungi and probably thousands of species of microscopic fungi, although fungal protection and preservation is not formally part of its mandate. Thus, the role of the Precinct in fungal conservation is of inestimable value.
Over the last four years an inventory has been made of macrofungi in the Precinct. Of the 224 species recorded so far, only 22 (9.8%) are known disease-causing species. Considering that thousands of visitors from all over the world have passed through the Precinct and that visitors carry fungal spores on their skin, clothes and shoes, it is a testament of how well the Precinct is managed, as healthy plants are much less prone to disease. It is known that at least 90% or more of all green plants on the planet depend on symbiotic fungi (called mycorrhizae) for their existence. Which species of fungi are involved is still being researched and so some recyclers, and perhaps even some disease-causing species, may eventually be found to have a mycorrhizal role for all or part of their lifecycle. At least 50 (over 22%) of all large fungi recorded in the Precinct are primarily mycorrhizal, and therefore play a vital role in maintenance of plant health. A single species of plant may have several mycorrhizal associates and a single mycorrhizal fungus may cooperate with several plant species. The remaining fungi in the Precinct are predominantly recyclers. Fungi, together with bacteria, are the primary recyclers of all dead animal, fungus, plant and other organic material on the planet. Those species that break down fallen palm fronds, twigs, branches, logs and old tree stumps are most common in the rainforest and other “natural” areas. The Flecker Garden has an area of about 29ha and has produced many fungi, some shared with other areas and some unique to Flecker Garden. Flecker Garden has experienced a long history of introduction of plants from all over the world, either directly or via Australian suppliers, many of whom obtained the plants from overseas. Some of these plants were introduced to the Garden as potted specimens as early as the 1890s, and, because the plants were healthy, carried a suite of their essential mycorrhizal fungi with them. Some of these mycorrhizae are now established in Flecker Garden.
Searches for the suspect species outside Flecker Garden have failed to fi nd any, suggesting that they may require their specifi c host plant and have not, and will not, spread further. All the parasitic species found so far occur more widely in Australia, and it is probably safe to say that there is no evidence that Flecker Garden is the epicentre of any kind of spread of exotic diseases, or even of exotic decomposer-recyclers. It can be expected that the Precinct rainforest and adjacent areas, totalling about 358ha, will contain a plethora of fungal species, many of which are probably undescribed. The rainforest remnant near the boardwalk is a vital conservation area, fi rstly because about 126ha of it has no formal access and so has been protected from human disturbance for some time, and because it is the only remaining plot of intact coastal rainforest left anywhere in the vicinity of Cairns. What remains elsewhere is either narrow/linear along drainage lines or road verges, on private land under threat of clearing, or has been heavily invaded by exotic plants and feral pigs. The interior of the preserved rainforest in the Precinct has not been surveyed for fungi. However, the 46 macrofungi that have been recorded only from rainforest are from near the ‘boardwalk rainforest’, or adjacent to the Tanks Art Centre.
In the Precinct, there are about 26 species of fungi which appear to be new to science, although they could be species from overseas, or Far North Queensland variants of southern species. This suggests that the Precinct has a signifi cant role in conservation of some fungal species whether they be Australian native species or introduced.
Nicholas Peel
Some of my most enjoyable memories during my stay in Cairns are thanks to The Green Space. With help from Sarah and others I learned to improve my gardening skills as well as gained a better understanding of the fl ora and fauna of FNQ. Perhaps my favourite day at the The Green Space was building the gabian wall with the help of Christian and about half a dozen volunteers. Overall, The Green Space was a very rewarding experience and I never went home empty handed! I look forward to visiting again in the future and seeing the progress.
The Green Space Our Place team thank you Nick for your support at The Green Space and wish you all the best in your next adventure.
Preparing your garden for winter vegies
Sarah GoslinG
Now is a good time to prepare the vegetable garden for your winter crops. If you have any garden beds which are not growing summer veg, there are several ways to enrich your soil ready to grow amazing crops in the winter. Here are two options to try: Green manure
It’s not too late to plant a green manure crop if you get it in soon. To add nitrogen, you can plant Mung bean, Buckwheat, Lablab, Cowpea or soybean (controls nematodes). And to add bulk organic material, plant French or Japanese Millet. You can buy seed packets from shops that sell organic seeds, or order online. Or, purchase a pack of Mung beans from the supermarket and they will probably grow too. In early April, dig the green manure plants into the soil, add one cup of dolomite per square metre and some manure and mulch heavily with hay. We should get regular rain throughout April, but if it’s not raining, make sure you water the bed to help break it down. It should be ready for you to plant seedlings in early to mid May. Check under the mulch that everything has broken down before you plant. Grass clippings and manure Alternatively, you can pile your grass clippings on the garden bed (make sure the grass is not seeding, or you’ll be weeding forever!) Add one cup of dolomite per square metre and any manure or blood and bone. If you can get hold of horse manure, put it on up to 20cm thick. Then mulch heavily with hay. Water well if it’s not raining as this will assist with the breaking down process. This should be ready by April. Simply lift the mulch and check it has all broken down before you plant your winter seedlings.
New year, new life
A pair of Willie Wagtails had a nest on my clothes hoist during December 2021. Fortunately for them, I rarely use the hoist. They had two chicks. This story is of the second chick. The fi rst chick did not survive.
I fi rst saw the second chick on 15 December and it was virtually only skin. Photo 1: The chick was really starting to test its wings on 21 December.
Photo 2: Two seconds later, the parents arrived and had what looked like a family conference. From this point on, one parent was always at the nest. It seemed as though they decided to ensure that their chick did not fall out of the nest like the fi rst chick.
Photo 3: Each parent returned to the nest within a second of the other one leaving. The split-second co-ordination between the parents was fascinating and wonderous to see. Photo 4: December had very hot days, especially for an exposed nest. I noticed that the parent with the chick was shading the chick as much as possible. They moved around the nest keeping their back to the sun and the chick in their shade. Once the nest was in the shade of the house, they moved off the nest and remained close.
One morning, the parents were in full noise in the neighbour’s trees. I couldn’t see them but was soon aware of the cause for the commotion when I heard a feeble squawk of a kookaburra as it slunk off . The kookaburra announced its return next morning when landing on another neighbour’s tv antenna in direct view of the nest. I ran out to see if I could help chase it off . I should have grabbed my camera instead. Those parents had the situation well under control. Watching them heckle the hapless kookaburra reminded me of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The kookaburra again slunk off when it could with another feeble squawk. Photos 5 and 6: These are the last two photos of this chick. It had left the nest early the next morning, 23 December, before I looked out. Once the chick left the nest, both parents disappeared, not to be sighted or heard again. The chick was on its own to fend for itself.
I realised two days later that I was seeing and hearing the chick staying close by. It had become a beautiful looking young bird. Another two days later, it had fl own away to make its own way in the world. I see the birth of the chick through to its leaving the nest as ‘new year, new life’. Sometime between mid to late January, both parents returned. One of the parents regularly lands on the undercover clothes line. One of the lines is slack. I love watching how it balances on that loose and moving line. This bird now roosts regularly on these lines at night.
