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Connection of Mushrooms And Ecology

by Roosevelt Kitchens

Mushrooms are ubiquitous in our environment, even if you don’t always see them. The tremendous variety of fungi that live above the ground, in the ground or even inside plants is partially hidden from our view, but it is of essential importance for our nature.

Since the fungi have played an important role in all ecosystems since the beginning of vegetation development around 350 million years ago, corresponding ties to certain habitats have also developed. Comparable to flowering plants, for example, there are species that are intolerant of the input of substances.

Saprotrophic mushroom forms

The so-called saprotrophic fungi feed mainly on organic material that arises when organisms die, especially plants. Together with animals, blue meanie mushrooms and other types of mushrooms are responsible for ensuring that wood, for example, rots completely. In this way, they return the ingredients of plants such as phosphorus and nitrogen as nutrients to the soil and contribute to the formation of humus.

Mushrooms as a symbiotic partner

Blue meanies mushrooms

The symbiotic mushrooms also play an important role. These are fungi that appear together with plants for the common benefit. These include such well-known species as the boletus or the chanterelle. Mycorrhizal fungi develop a special mycelium that attaches itself closely to the fine roots of their plant partners, mainly woody plants. The plant supplies sugar from its photosynthesis, the fungus supplies minerals and water.

The dependency goes so far that the plant cares or even dies if the fungal partner is missing. This can have far-reaching consequences for our forests. They would be permanently damaged if ectomycorrhizal fungi disappeared for any reason, for example through the entry of pollutants. The “forest dieback” is at least partly due to this. Because of their positive effect on woody vitality, ectomycorrhizal fungi are increasingly used in forestry and tree nurseries.

Mushrooms as a chemistry laboratory

Mushrooms are natural chemistry laboratories, they produce a seemingly infinite variety of ingredients, most of which are still unknown. Antibiotics, most of which are made from mold, are a common example.

It is less known that large mushrooms are also of pharmaceutical importance. For example, the shiny black bristle produces a substance with an antibiotic effect.

In Asia, many mushrooms are believed to have healing properties, even for cancer. There are now clinical study results that seem to confirm such expectations.

Trees Save Lives, Protect The Trees For Overall Health

Trees For Good Health?

The Journal of Environmental pollution has published new research. The headline – Fresh air saves lives. Within just a year, trees have prevented about 650,000 cases of respiratory symptoms and saved about 800 lives. Trees are said to clean the air we breathe making the environment safer for us to live in.

We are all conscious of our health. We fight obesity and other diseases as naturally as possible but we question everything that’s offered before we actually taking it in. For example, natural fat burners are said to be safe for people who want to lose weight but before we accept that we ask – Do fat burner cause health issues? But this is just one among many concerns that we are facing in relation to health. We also know that we need a clean environment to live healthily.

To Plant New Trees Or To Save Existing Ones?

A clean and healthy environment. We all want that. That’s why many environmentalists and concerned citizens are making every effort to save the planet and one of them is to save the trees. But why not just plant new trees?

Planting as many new trees as possible slows down or even reverses climate change – that sounds good in theory. Forests are essential for our climate because they store large amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2.

Plant trees against climate change?

Our trees and forests are essential for the climate because they absorb the greenhouse gas CO2 and release oxygen. Thereby they help to keep the temperatures on earth stable. The more trees there are, the more CO2 can consequently be bound. And intact forests not only help the climate but are also the habitat of numerous animals and plants and thus contribute to biodiversity.

Planting trees for the climate

Some experts believe that reforestation by planting new trees “aimlessly” is not the best way to stop climate change. This is why not all environmental protection organizations have reforestation projects in their program.

A tree has to grow and needs care

Before a tree can bind enough CO2 and dirt from the atmosphere, it has to grow. Because the older the trees are, the more CO2 they can store. A tree cannot develop its positive climate effect immediately after it has been planted – but only after several years. In addition, a tree needs water and care to grow.

Not all trees are the same

Not every tree species stores the same amount of CO2. Spruce, for example, absorbs less CO2 than pine, oak, or beech. Since the climatic conditions change due to climate change, it has to be checked again and again, which trees should best be planted on which soils, and in which regions.

Mixed forests instead of monocultures

Mixed forests also store better CO2 than monocultures and at the same time, less susceptible to pests such as the bark beetle. Monocultures also fall victim to weather phenomena such as storms but recover more quickly than mixed forests, which are more permanent. It is therefore only partially recommended for the climate to reforest tree plantations with the same tree species.

Better to protect forests instead of planting new trees!

Afforestation and new trees are one way to do something about climate change. But what helps even faster and better is to protect the existing forests and, above all, to take stronger action against deforestation of the rainforest. Because better than any newly planted tree is the tree we keep.

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Popularity of Dietary Supplements Has Given Rise to Market-Driven Organic Agriculture

by Carey Lise

The growing interest of consumers in self-care and wellness has given organic agriculture a push, in which farming methods create benefits to the environment. The demand for dietary supplements for one, has been steadily increasing for years. To which a market-driven organic agriculture, supplies the natural ingredients needed by supplement manufacturers.

Apparently, consumers now have a strong influence over organic production, as many are taking supplements as a strategy for combatting chronic diseases and for attaining ideal health and long term wellness.

What is Organic Agriculture and How Does It Benefit the Environment?

While there are more elaborate definitions of organic agriculture, they all boil down to methods that focus on ecosystem management instead of relying on external synthetic inputs like pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, veterinary drugs, preservatives and additives that could alter the natural properties of agricultural products. Through site-specific management practices, organic agriculture promotes long-term soil fertility, water quality and cleaner air.

As opposed to modern farming methods, organic agriculture makes a proactive approach to preventing soil and water issues, instead of applying treatment only after problems like soil degradation, pests and crop diseases have already emerged.

Organic Agriculture Promotes Long-Term Sustainability of Soil – Improvements in soil formation and structure to create a more stable system is vital to organic agriculture. Crop rotations, cover crops, inter-cropping, organic fertilizers, minimal tillage and symbiotic associations, not only prevent soil degradation and erosion. Such practices also increase the retentive abilities of soil in storing nutrients that will be absorbed by crops.

Non-Use of Chemical-Based Products Reduces Risks of Water Pollution and/or Contamination – Since the use of chemical-based pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are not organic agricultural practices, farm water runoffs do not carry harmful ingredients that could pollute groundwater and nearby bodies of water.

Cleaner Air Through Reduced Use of Non-Renewable Energy to Produce and Transport Agrochemical Products – Inasmuch as organic agriculture reduces the demand for agrochemical products, it in turn decreases the use of fossil-fueled equipment related to their production, delivery and application.

Organic Agriculture Thrives Amidst a Constantly Growing Market for Dietary Supplements

Consumers in many countries across the globe have been using mineral and vitamin supplements as an alternative to getting nutrients and other health benefits from food sources. The trend is still growing since the 70s, even though the medical community recommends that getting nutrients from natural foods is still the best strategy.

Obesity being one of the major health problems in the U.S. has been pushing the demand for weight loss supplements to greater levels. Those that have been proven effective by users are with formulations that combine several nutrients that work toward improving metabolism, and at the same time abating the desire for food. Other organic extracts added to formulations control sugar levels, prevent cells from storing more fat, as well as increase body energy to use in physical activities.

Full review and buyer guide found at this website, provides comprehensive information about the ingredients that make the most popular brands of weight loss supplements that act efficiently as fat burners. Take note of the ingredients included as composition, such as metabolites, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and other botanicals, hormones and hormone analogs, which are substances extracted from organically grown agriproducts.

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