Whether they are large, colorful, edible... or not, mushrooms are still largely unknown although essential to ecosystems and will be on the menu of discussions at the next UN conference on biodiversity, which begins Monday in Colombia.
"Fungi are essential for all terrestrial ecosystems," Amy Honan, professor of mycology and fungal biodiversity at the University of Oregon, told AFP.
In a forest near Port Angeles, Washington, the scientist surveys the surroundings.
In this region of the northwest of the United States, it is difficult not to come across a mushroom on your way while hiking, as the species proliferate in favorable conditions. But they are only the visible part of these organisms, neither really plant nor really animal.
A weekend is even dedicated to them every year in the region to raise public awareness of their crucial role.
Fungi, which are essential to the life of plants, protect them from salt, heavy metals and diseases, the scientist explains. " Without fungi... plants would not exist. We need plants for oxygen. So, the world as we know it would not exist."
They also break down dead organic matter and recycle carbon and nutrients, facilitating the plant's life cycle, she explains.
The fungus " spits out different enzymes so it breaks down its food outside and then swallows it like a smoothie," adds Amy Honan, saying it's more closely related to an animal than a plant.
Of the approximately 2.5 million species of fungi on Earth, 150,000 have been identified by scientists, or only 6%, explains the mycologist.
By comparison, she estimates that we know 98% of vertebrates, 85% of plants and 20% of invertebrates on the planet.
Picking
The scientist is currently conducting a study with mycologist Graham Steinruck on fungal biodiversity. On the occasion of the annual festival, they have proposed taking participants on a foraging trip to discover the different species and learn how to describe them.
" I think the more we discover and document fungi, the more it tells us about biodiversity but also how to better care for the land," says Graham Steinruck.
For humans, it can also help "to heal us and perhaps eventually (support us) in other areas such as industry."
Benefits that piqued the curiosity of Naomi Ruelle, who came from New York to take part in her first mushroom picking.
" I learned so much," she says, showing off her collection of specimens ranging from a yellow, parasol-shaped mushroom to a huge, fleshy species.
" It was really interesting to see the different species. They're obviously going to take them to the lab and I'm quite curious to learn a bit more," she says.
COP16
The role of fungi will be on the agenda of discussions at COP16 on biodiversity, which opens Monday in Colombia.
The meeting brings together 12,000 participants from some 200 countries, including 140 ministers and seven heads of state.
Its ambition is the implementation, still timid, of nature conservation objectives by 2030.
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According to the British media outlet The Guardian, Chile and Great Britain should on this occasion ask to recognize mushrooms as "an independent kingdom of life in laws, policies and agreements, in order to better preserve them and adopt concrete measures that allow them to maintain their beneficial effects on ecosystems and people."
For Graham Steinruck, better protection of this species would indeed be good news.