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ISLAND-WIDE MYCORRHIZA WORKSHOP

Nicolas Jarraud, Environmental Officer, UNDP-ACT

Mycorrhizae are a symbiosis, an intimate partnership between fungi and plants, which occur naturally on over 90% of land-based plant species on the planet. This partnership has evolved over a period of approximately 460 million years, and is thought to have been instrumental in the colonisation of land by plants. In fact, the relationship has become so intimate that both partners have difficulty in surviving without each other. The plant provides carbohydrates from photosynthesis whilst the fungal filaments (hyphae) form a vast extension to the root system (the mycorrhizosphere), transferring to the plant mineral nutrients and water that would otherwise be out of reach, thereby allowing mycorrhizal plants to fare better in arid or nutrient-poor soils. Mycorrhizae protect the plant against extreme soil conditions, soil-borne diseases, toxic elements in the soil, and drought, thereby enabling plants to grow in environmentally-stressed sites, and making them an ideal tool for the reforestation of barren sites such as abandoned mines or quarries.

Depending on the type of mycorrhizal association, the hyphae grow around the root as a sheath (Ectomycorrhizae), or form structures inside the root cells (Arbuscular Mycorrhizae). We are all familiar, perhaps without knowing it, with Ectomycorrhizae, in the form of their fruiting bodies, which we commonly know as ‘mushrooms’. The truffle, for example, is a very tasty ectomycorrhizal fungus!

Aside from gastronomy, mycorrhizal technology can be used as a natural solution for improving reforestation programmes of environmentally stressed sites, and to reduce the negative environmental inputs of intensive conventional agriculture, such as fertilisers and pesticides.

This is why ACT is supporting two projects involving mycorrhizae. The first, entitled “Innovative Biological Approaches for the Reforestation of Environmentally Stressed Sites” (IBARESS), focuses on reforestation efforts island-wide, and the second “Mycorrhizae in Vegetable Farming,” aimed at demonstrating mycorrhizae as a tool in organic farming and sustainable farming, leading to a reduction in the use of pesticides and fertilisers. Both these projects are also aimed at enhancing co-operation between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot professionals in an area of common concern: land degradation.

As part of these projects, the workshop “Mycorrhizal Technology for Sustainable Farming and Forestry” was organised for agriculture and forestry experts from both communities. Speakers included three international experts and local scientists involved in mycorrhizal research and around 80 participants from across the island. This three-day event started with a series of lectures on the ecological importance of mycorrhizae, as well as their potential applications in sustainable farming and forestry. On the second day, participants went on a bus trip to seriously eroded areas (the Amiantos Mine in the Greek Cypriot Community, and Gypsos/Akova in the Turkish Cypriot Community) where it is hoped that mycorrhizal technology can enhance reforestation efforts. On the third and final day, participants were invited to a hands-on session in the laboratory, where they were taught how to find mycorrhizae in soil and roots, and also how to measure their beneficial effects on plants.