Thank you citizen scientists, and hello fungi!

We're just over a month in, and the response to the project has been absolutely incredible! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to submit observations and identifications, we hope you're enjoying getting out there and watching life return to the firegrounds. Between you all, there's been over 2600 observations of 593 species so far, which is already turning into a rich post-fire biodiversity resource. Keep it up, you're all amazing!


Now that summer is behind us, cooler temperatures and the recent rain might mean you'll be seeing more fungi around. As with plants and animals, don't pick, remove, or damage fungi in National Parks or reserves.

Here are some handy tips from our friends at FungiMap Australia on how to capture clear images of these important organisms (reposted with minor alterations and permission).

Frame the fungi up so that you can see as many features as possible in one shot, or take several images showing important features. This includes the cap, underneath (e.g. the gills or pores), and stalk.

Get close, use macro settings where possible

  • If possible, have good light without glare, use tripods, timers, diffuse lights in low light conditions

It's great to include in the image:

  • Something for scale, like a ruler or 5 cent piece ‘echidna’
  • A white point object like a label to help with digital colour corrections
  • Mirrors can help with under surface shots

Fungi habitat

  • Habitat images are particularly important after disturbance events as it give use some information about the conditions at the site. For example can show if the area was severely burn or if patches of litter or vegetation survived the fire.

Find out more about fire and fungi here: https://fungimap.org.au/find-out-about-our-fire-fungi/

Posted on March 6, 2020 02:42 AM by alpine_flora_of_australia alpine_flora_of_australia

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