[compost_tea] Fungi On Woodpecker Beaks Found Crucial To Forest Processes

From: Tim Kiphart <kiphart_at_ev1.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 10:23:42 -0600

Thought this relavant to our cause....not to mention fascinating.

http://www.enn.com/news/2005-02-04/s_12568.asp

Fungus in Woodpeckers' Beaks Crucial to Forest Process

NEW YORK, New York, February 11, 2004 (ENS) - A woodpecker's beak is a
virtual petri dish of fungal spores that play a key role in the decay of
dead trees, according to new research by the New York-based Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) and Arkansas State University.

In their study published in the journal "Condor," the authors examined
several species of woodpeckers living in ponderosa pine forests in
northern California and Oregon. They learned that over 60 percent of the
birds nesting in tree cavities had a variety of wood inhabiting fungi
living in their beaks.

These fungi serve a critical role in the decomposition of dead trees,
commonly known as snags, and influence how they are used by wildlife.

Unless trees decay, woodpeckers are unable to excavate nest cavities,
which are used as nesting sites by a variety of wildlife species.

While some forestry practices on public and private lands allocate a
certain number of snags per acre for wildlife use, the recent Bush
administration "Healthy Forests" policies calls for removing snags because
of their perceived risk in forest fires.

The authors say that more factors need to be taken into consideration than
just density or spatial arrangement of the snags.

"Our study shows that woodpeckers are really the architects and landlords
of the forest," said WCS scientist Kerry Farris, the study's lead author.
"Their activities play a key role in how snags decay and are used by other
species."

Woodpeckers initially puncture dead and dying trees in search of bark
beetles and other wood-boring insects, a process that creates holes in
wood that serve as infection sites for airborne fungal spores.

As the birds return to these holes to feed, or to excavate them further
for nesting, they pick up the fungi in their beaks, then help spread the
spores by foraging on other dead trees.

"Our research illustrates the numerous agents contributing to the
complexity of snag decomposition and eventual cavity generation by
woodpeckers," Farris said. "Forest management could benefit from a
consideration of these processes when managing snags on public and private
lands."

* * *

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2004. All Rights Reserved.

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. **


 
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Received on Sun Feb 22 2004 - 15:40:14 EST

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