Inoculated trees for species protection

The project "Reintroduction of endangered fungi in Central European forests" aims to promote rare species of fungi that feed on the decomposition of organic matter such as wood through targeted reintroduction. The go-ahead has now been given for the field trials - spreading the fungal species in the Bavarian Forest National Park. The project is being funded by the DBU with 351,250 euros and will run until the beginning of 2027.

"We first cultivate the fungal species on culture media in the laboratory," explains Dr. Franziska Zahn from the Chair of Ecology of Fungi at the University of Bayreuth. These cultivated fungi are placed in pre-drilled holes in the host trees - spruce, beech and fir - using wooden dowels, which are used for furniture construction: The trees are inoculated. This is how the fungi are distributed in the management zone of the national park. The project comprises around 400 inoculated trunk pieces, from which externally visible fungal fruiting bodies are to grow. The inoculation of the trees in the trial area is largely supported by interns from the national park.

"I am sure that we will discover the first fruiting bodies in two years at the latest," says mycologist Peter Karasch from the Bavarian Forest National Park, who is responsible for the work on site. The 20 project sites in the Bayerisch Eisenstein and Spiegelau National Park departments will undergo regular monitoring in the coming years to check how quickly the fungal species can spread and under what conditions.

DBU Secretary-General Alexander Bonde: "Together with the University of Bayreuth and the Bavarian Forest National Park, we are breaking new ground here. For the first time, targeted species protection measures for rare fungal species are being tested in practice." Despite the important function of fungi, particularly in forest ecosystems, there has been almost no experience of this to date, said Bonde. The DBU Secretary-General continued: "The joint project of the fungi experts from the University of Bayreuth, led by Professor Claus Bässler from the Chair of Ecology of Fungi, and the experts from the Bavarian Forest National Park is therefore innovative and groundbreaking for practical nature conservation."