The Nutrient Cycle - Soil: Reflections on the Basis of our Existence - page 82

Achieving a well-balanced compost heap is about creating optimal condi-
tions for bacteria to grow. When that happens, the temperature inside the heap can
exceed seventy degrees Celsius. That level of heat kills most parasites and weed
seeds, saving you all sorts of problems when you put the compost on your growing
beds. The temperature usually peaks at around one week and then gradually falls,
at which point fungi start to play their role in the decomposition process. Once the
temperature drops to between 35 and 40 °C, different species of ink cap mushroom
get to work breaking down hard-to-digest lignin. They also attack other fungi to
ensure exclusive access to the compost material. Field mushrooms will grow at
temperatures below 30° but you seldom see them on compost heaps because ink
caps attack their mycelia and prevent them from sporulating. To grow field mush-
rooms one must therefore pasteurise the organic matter and inoculate the mycelia.
At the Tiputini River in the Amazon
Compost heaps are not the only place where fungi thrive. They are also very much at
home in tropical rainforests. I travelled to the Amazon basin in eastern Ecuador with
a group of scientists specialising in symbiotic organisms. Some worked on lichens,
a symbiosis between algae and fungi, others on the symbiosis between termites and
their intestinal bacteria, which enable them to eat wood. For my part, I went to study
mycorrhiza, a symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots.
Active clay . The Tiputini River leads deep into the Ecuadorian rainforest. Here, the water level can fluc-
tuate by 11 m. When the riverbanks are exposed, parrots gather to lick the clay at favourite spots. The
clay functions as active carbon, binding to and neutralising toxins in the seeds that the parrots eat