How special mushroom pellets made in Capital are helping forests to grow

An Edinburgh firm is helping to regrow forests with special mushroom pellets, using the “superpowers” of fungi.

- by Stuart Reid

Dr Toby Parkes is the founder of Rhizocore Technologies, based at Edinburgh University's Easter Bush campus

(Picture: Rhizocore Technologies/PA)

Teams from Rhizocore Technologies are collecting samples of fungi from around the world, with the goal of curating the planet's largest library of fungal specimens.

Their product, a small square grey pellet, helps tree-planting projects succeed in ground which may lack the appropriate fungus in the soil, boosting chances of trees being able to grow strongly to create new forests.

Scientists who created the company said that trees need a system of mycorrhizal fungi around their roots in order to thrive, forming a symbiotic relationship between tree and fungus. Deforestation and human activity can lead to this degrading.