Protecting Fungi

Our growing knowledge of fungal symbiosis with plants shows us how vital fungi are to the environment, and thus we must all do everything we can to protect and encourage them. They are fundamental to the life of plants and animals, the third force that completes the biosphere on earth, and protecting them in their environment is of paramount importance. Indeed, all mycologists and mycological societies place great emphasis on protecting the whole fungal world.

The British Mycological Society (BMS) has laid down guiding principles. “The Society acknowledges the importance of edible fungi as a resource to be utilised, but accepts harvesting such fungi only where it is non-threatening to the viability of fungal populations ... The Society’s constitutional objective ‘to promote mycology’ encompasses encouragement of research on the biology, including taxonomy and ecology, of fungi; on the causes of decline of fungal populations; and on the cultivation of edible fungi.”