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:

• Dr. Monika Fischer Website: https://sites.google.com/view/monikafischer/home
• Dr. Monika Fischer Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonikaSFischer
• NY Times “This Fire-Loving Fungi Eats Charcoal”: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/science/fungus-wildfire-charcoal.html
• Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=RDJjNPAAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate