30/10/2012
Adam Walton explores the secret world of fungi. He discovers that toadstools are the tip of a huge 'living iceberg' and reveals the chemical warfare that's raging beneath our feet.
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Fungi
This week Adam Walton goes on a fact finding fungus hunt with one of the UK's leading experts on fungi, Professor Lynne Boddy of Cardiff University School of Biosciences. Adam gets a tour of dead tree stumps and a glimpse into the strange world of fungal activity. We hear how fungi play a vital role in the Earth's ecosystems, recycling the nutrients from dead organic matter, and how the familiar shapes of fungus we see above ground (the so-called "fruit bodies") are just the tip of a vast fungal iceberg. Lynne also describes the fungus that's causing the current headline-making ash tree die-back in the UK. We'll also be hearing from Dr Dan Eastwood of Swansea University about the research being done on the genome of the button mushroom.
BBC News - "Ash dieback" fungus
Broadcasts
- Tue 30 Oct 201218:30BBC Radio Wales
- Sun 4 Nov 201206:30BBC Radio Wales
Adam Walton
Adam's "other job" - tune in every Saturday at 10 PM for the best new music from Wales.
