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This week in Biodiversity News – 2nd December

Conservation

A small group of White-tailed Eagles are to be reintroduced in Exmoor National Park. A project by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England has been working to reintroduce the species since 2019. Focusing on the south of England, the project has been releasing eagles to the Isle of Wight, with 37 birds released so far throughout the project. Exmoor, a region in which this species has bred historically, has been identified as key habitat for White-tailed Eagles due to suitable prey abundance and a long stretch of coastal woodland and moorland. The project plans to reinforce English populations with a small cohort of up to twenty birds, which will be released over a three-year period on Exmoor.

Haliaeetus albicilla white tailed eagle — Image by NTNU Faculty of Natural Sciences via Flickr

Environment

The conservation group Alliance for Wales’ Rainforests (AWR) are urging the Welsh government to take urgent action to safeguard Celtic, or temperate, rainforests. The AWR is a collaboration between several conservation organisations including Plantlife, Wildlife Trusts Wales and Coed Cadw, which released a report on the state of Wales’ rainforests – the report revealed that these valuable landscapes are in generally poor condition, with invasive species and significant environmental pressures, such as intensive grazing or air pollution. With over 1,900,000 acres of temperate rainforest in Wales, and only one tenth of this area designated, the group have emphasised that action is needed from the Welsh government to protect the diversity and value of these ecosystems.

Cranberry farmers are restoring defunct bogs to wetlands in Massachusetts. Several restoration projects have been awarded $6 million in grants provided by New England’s Department of Fish and Game Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) to restore wildlife habitat and improve water quality. The funding will be used to convert disused bogs into wetlands and streams to improve environmental resilience, halt erosion and enhance carbon sequestration. So far, 400 acres have been converted, with hopes to restore an additional 1,000 acres over the next ten years.

Policy

Defra cuts pose a threat to Britain’s national landscapes. Defra spending is to be cut by 2% over the next financial year, which could have harmful ramifications for the National Landscapes team who manage 46 regions previously known as Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, including the Chilterns, the Cotswold’s and the Wye Valley. The team is expecting a 12% funding cut, placing significant pressure on an already underfunded and vital service in the fight against climate change. The National Landscapes Chief has warned that these valuable areas could become ‘paper parks’ without adequate funding, and some areas could face a 20% reduction in core services.

North Pennines UK — Image by Robert J Heath via Flickr

COP29 concluded on 22nd November. This year’s negotiations saw heavy criticism, with several headlining stories:

Developing nations were dissatisfied with $300bn in climate finance, with many stressing that the sum is not sufficient to address the challenges that developing countries face.
Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, described fossil fuels as a ‘gift from God’ in an opening speech, sparking debate about the way host countries are selected – Azerbaijan follows authoritarian states Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as COP hosts.
Senior climate leaders have written an open letter to the UN, claiming the conference was no longer fit for purpose.
China is emerging as the next climate leader and was praised for increased transparency about its financial support for developing countries

The UK has joined a coalition to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Joined by 16 other countries, including Colombia, Canada and New Zealand, the coalition aims to develop national strategy, remove barriers and facilitate open communication to stop subsidies for oil and gas exploration and production. Thought to be a key step for the UK to reach its wider commitments, the coalition will facilitate the UK’s vision in establishing itself as a clean energy superpower.

Climate Crisis

A new study has provided an answer to a flurry of elephant deaths. Over 350 elephants, ranging from calves to mature adults, died under mysterious circumstances in Botswana in 2020. A new study using satellite data has suggested that toxic algal blooms of cyanobacteria may be behind these mass die-offs, poisoning the drinking water available to these animals. This research adds to the growing evidence that climate change will have lethal impacts on wildlife as it accelerates – climate-induced disease and mass mortalities are suggested to increase in frequency and severity over the coming years.

African Elephant — Image by Mandy Goldberg via Flickr

NEWTCAM Update November 2024

NHBS is working with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) to develop an innovative approach to amphibian monitoring using NEWTCAM, an underwater camera device. In collaboration, we have been refining and testing NEWTCAM to evaluate its potential for biodiversity monitoring. In this update, we share the latest developments in this exciting project.

NEWTCAM Overview

The NEWTCAM is an open underwater tunnel with an integrated camera and lighting system used to automatically capture high resolution images and video of aquatic animals. Specifically developed for Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) surveys, the NEWTCAM works by taking an image of a newt’s underside. These images enable the determination of sex, development stage and individual identification due to the unique spot patterns on each animal. It can be left unattended in the water for several days minimising animal handling, greatly improving survey effort, detection rates, and reducing stress on the animals. The AI-based processing method is classifying images by species and gender (for the four newt species found in the UK), but does not provide population estimates. Individuation (for population estimates) require more AI developments.

a great crested newt captured with newtcam — Great Crested Newt captured with NEWTCAM. Image by the University of Kent

The project has two primary aims: to improve the functionality, durability and versatility of the NEWTCAM and to assess its value as a user-friendly freshwater wildlife monitoring method. These aims will be accomplished through a programme of technological development work at LIST laboratories and the NHBS workshop, followed by field experiments conducted by LIST and early user trials. These experiments will test the reliability and robustness of the NEWTCAM for amphibian monitoring and surveying, the NEWTCAM’s ability to detect multiple species and life stages in various habitats, and whether the data produced is sufficient in producing population estimates.

2024 Update

Since the initial field trials, we have continued to refine the NEWTCAM’s design and outer housing, making improvements ahead of a second round of trials.

During the summer, 24 NEWTCAM units were distributed for field trials across Europe, Asia and America, with one unit in California. These trials have the following objectives:

Test the latest version of the NEWTCAM in diverse environments
Gather user feedback on the NEWTCAM design
Improve knowledge on the scope of species that can be observed

During this time, two NEWTCAM devices were deployed in a pond in Luxembourg from March to September, and have successfully produced a time series of larval, juvenile and adult Great Crested Newts. Additionally, a trial in Kent, UK observed adult Great Crested Newts later in the season.

Additionally, our early users have successfully captured first observations of the Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus) and Hong Kong Warty Newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis) with NEWTCAM, and we have observed natural foraging behaviours in Great Crested Newts without human interference.

These initial trials have also highlighted NEWTCAMs potential for monitoring other aquatic species beyond amphibians. Early users have reported observations on a variety of taxa including water beetles and fish, highlighting the potential versatility of the device.

What’s Next?

We will continue to gather user feedback from the ongoing field trials with the first batch of NEWTCAM units to guide further development of the device. Additional field trials will be carried out in the spring of 2025, with the final product planned to enter production by the end of the year.

Newtcam submerged in a pond — Yellow-bellied toad on a NEWTCAM. Image by Pairi Daiza Foundation, Nassonia Project.

Book Review: Radical by Nature

***** A tremendously enjoyable biography

2023 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Best remembered as the father of biogeography and co-discoverer of natural selection, he was an all-round fascinating person. Evolutionary biologist, entomologist, and Darwin and Wallace scholar James T. Costa gives an in-depth, intimate, and updated story of his life.

Given the many other available Wallace biographies, why read this one? Because Costa can safely be considered an expert on the history of evolutionary thought. Next to three books on Darwin since 2009, Costa has also studied Wallace’s life and work since 2010, resulting in three books, not to mention numerous academic papers and magazine articles. What this means in practical terms is that Costa provides context, context, context.

As such, he explains the relevance and novelty of Wallace’s ideas at the time (and I am going to be very selective here). For instance, Wallace was one of the first to insist on the recording of accurate location data when collecting animals and plants. When moving east and west in the Malay Archipelago, he thus noticed that the fauna on some neighbouring islands differed sharply, a local division later named the Wallace Line. It undermined geologist Charles Lyell’s idea that environment alone determines distribution.

Speaking of Lyell, some of Wallace’s most underrecognized ideas concern transmutation (as evolution was known back then). Lyell claimed that species were immutable entities and that the fossil record reflected separate rounds of creation. Wallace disagreed; he was never one to shy away from discussion, even with intellectual giants. His then-novel idea was that “every species arises in immediate proximity to a preexisting and closely related species” (p. 158). But how? Wallace’s flash of insight on natural selection, the remarkable confluence of Darwin and Wallace’s ideas, and the case Wallace was building against Lyell are all deeply interesting topics that I am deferring to other reviews. Instead, let me briefly consider his take on anthropology. Wallace was fascinated with the indigenous people he encountered and his approach “was nothing less than a natural history of humans” (p. 196), applying the same evolutionary logic he applied to other animals. Against the background of a divided discipline back in London between polygenists (who saw races as separate entities, even species) and monogenists (who saw “races” as variations of a single human species), Wallace hewed closer to the latter.

Costa also provides much historical context on Wallace the person. He is rightly remembered as a humanitarian scholar for whom justice was his lodestar. Utopian socialist Robert Owen left a deep impression and the young Wallace was a regular at the halls of science and mechanics’ institutes that were just then popping up everywhere. These promoted self-improvement of working-class people through education. His full conversion to socialism came much later in life though. Wallace was an early advocate of women’s rights, supported the suffragette movement, and more than once campaigned for scholarly societies to allow women in. He also campaigned for land reform, and in hindsight regretted that many of his early survey jobs served ongoing efforts at land enclosure that effectively screwed the poor.

Cyriopalus wallacei Pascoe, 1866 (Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) Holotype. — Cyriopalus wallacei Pascoe, 1866 (Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) collected by Alfred Russel Wallace, via flickr.

Now, how for some context to the above context? Despite the above character sketch, it would be an oversimplification to celebrate Wallace as “an almost uniquely nonracist, egalitarian Victorian […] who was “woke”” (p. 166) before the rest of us were. Sure, he was respectful towards indigenous people, credited his field assistants, and criticized European civilization. But for all that, he was a product of Britain’s global empire. Wherever he went, he could call on officials, transportation networks, and crews of unnamed porters and boatsmen for assistance. And despite his opposition to slavery, he frequently turned a blind eye to slave-holding friends and expats.

Further commenting on Wallace’s character (here comes more context), Costa admits that Wallace’s trusting nature could border on the gullible. His interest in spiritualism caused disbelief among his peers, even while they praised his scientific achievements. Costa points out that many science historians forget how it impregnated Victorian society at all levels and even some of his critics attended séances suspiciously often. The other faux pas is Wallace’s opposition to smallpox vaccination campaigns. Wallace, himself vaccinated, was all about the science, but this was in its infancy in the 19th century. “We cannot hold those who lived in the past to standards based on modern understanding” (p. 353), pleads Costa. Fortunately, we find him on the right side of history where eugenics is concerned, which he denounced as “the meddlesome interference of an arrogant, scientific priestcraft” (p. 490, note 52).

Costa’s writing is lively, occasionally interjected with chatty remarks or witticism that made me chuckle. When Wallace writes that Alexander von Humboldt’s travel narrative gave him a desire to visit the tropics, Costa responds that “Wallace got a “desire to visit the tropics” all right” (p. 46). When Wallace scathingly remarks that indigenous women in New Guinea are “the least engaging specimens of the fair sex” he had ever met, Costa parries that “chances are he was not viewed by the locals as the hottest specimen of white European manhood either” (p. 231). And when only the religious Lyell is willing to take serious Wallace’s new spiritualist tendencies, Costa imagines how “Darwin could only shake his head at the two of them” (p. 310). I found these a welcome source of levity.

Beetles collected in the Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace. — Beetles collected in the Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace, via flickr.

Much more can be said about both Wallace and this wonderful biography. Wallace left behind a mountain of written material for historians. Instead, let me circle back to my first question. Why read this biography? In fairness, other biographies provide details omitted here. Far more important, however, is what Costa adds. Much unpublished information has come to light since the 2013 centenary and Costa has drawn extensively on the archive of material that Wallace’s grandsons had. This was gradually annotated and digitised from 2010 onwards as part of the publicly accessible Wallace Correspondence Project and has allowed Costa to add much intimate detail from hundreds of personal letters.

Given the above, Costa’s stated aim of writing an updated biography has been more than realised; this book is a triumph! I tremendously enjoyed Radical by Nature and was very impressed with the depth of its scholarship. Next to an intimate portrait of this most fascinating scholar, Costa provides much detail on a critical period of scientific development and the social context in which it unfolded.

Radical by Nature is available from the NHBS bookstore here.

Q&A with Dr Rebecca Farley-Brown: Head of Field Studies Council Publications

The Field Studies Council has been educating the public on Britain’s natural environment for 70 years, and its publications have played a vital part in making nature more accessible. Three generations of wildlife enthusiasts and conservation professionals have learned about the UK’s plants and animals through Field Studies Council courses and honed their skills with Field Studies Council publications.

The Field Studies Council has published an impressive range of handy fold-out charts, as well as a large series of AIDGAP Guides, which are aimed at non-specialists and are intended to assist with the identification of difficult groups of plants and animals. Their back catalogue also includes a selection of more specialised titles, such as the Royal Entomological Society Handbooks on British Insects, and wildlife distribution atlases produced for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s Biological Records Centre.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr Rebecca Farley-Brown, Head of Publications at the Field Studies Council, about the many courses they run, how they develop their identification guides, their exciting new projects for the New Year and more.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what your role within the Field Studies Council entails?

Dr Rebecca Farley-Brown, Head of Field Studies Council Publications

My role within the Field Studies Council is Head of Publications, based in our warehouse in Telford. I started out in academic research and lecturing before moving to Field Studies Council in 2000. As well as business and product development, I manage the postal sales team that processes orders for our retailers as well as our e-commerce shop. It’s a busy role – every year we mail out over 145,000 guides and aim to publish at least four new ones. We also develop commissioned guides to support citizen science projects.

Developing identification guides is a key part of what we do – for those that take the first step of peering into the garden in search of butterflies and bees on flowerheads, through to guides for enthusiasts, fieldworkers and scientists. I am lucky to have a job which can make a difference, and successful identification is fundamental to survey work and biological recording – if we can’t name it, we can’t protect it.

Founded in 1943, Field Studies Council aims to facilitate an array of opportunities for people to learn about nature, which includes field or outdoor educational classes, residential and day centres, natural history courses and more. How large is your operation and what can be expected from one of your courses?

We have a network of 11 residential field centres and seven day centres across the UK, where we welcome over 100,000 learners from schools, colleges and universities every year. There is no substitute for first-hand experiences in nature, and our charity gives learners a special opportunity to see and explore natural landscapes for themselves. There are wider benefits too – being outdoors is good for mental health and wellbeing.

Our teams provide over 200 natural history courses a year, taking place online or in stunning locations. Whether you’re learning online at a pace that suits you, or in-person gaining practical hands-on experience, all of our courses are led by expert tutors who have a wealth of knowledge, and participants often leave feeling very inspired.

Natural history course participants learning how to identify dragonflies and damselflies

There is always a large demand for professional skills courses from those within the environmental job sector, including topics like habitat surveying, protected species, and understanding Biodiversity Net Gain. Alongside this, we get a lot of enthusiasts and students who are looking to improve identification skills for biological recording and knowledge to further their careers. As an example, our two-and-a-half day ‘Bats: Ecology, Surveying, and Conservation’ course will see you explore areas around our field centre in Shrewsbury. It offers hands-on experience with equipment such as bat detectors, where you will complete a bat survey and analyse the results. Plus, if you’re staying with us overnight, you can have a chilled catch-up with other like-minded people in the evening.

The charity has been creating Field Studies Council identification guides for many years, with a catalogue of over 200 guides to date. These resources cover a vast range of topics from plants and fungi to mammals and insects – can you share with us how you decide which subjects to focus on?

We try to keep an overview of what guides we have, where there are gaps and what needs updating. We had fungi marked as a potential area for a few years, but struggled to find an author until we started working with fungi expert Geoffrey Kibby in 2023, and we now have three WildID guides to distinctive fungi which have been really popular this autumn.

We also think about levels – people need different types of guides depending on their knowledge and experience. Someone starting to look at local wildlife might be happy to know they have found a grasshopper, whereas the enthusiasts and recorders will want to identify it to species level.

That being said, some keys are a challenge to develop and might not make it through to publication. We like to thoroughly test our guides with a range of people, including experts in the subject to make sure they are accurate and useful.

Two wildlife watchers using a Field Studies Council WildID Bird guide in a local field — From beginners to experts, we make guides suitable for all skill levels.

Each guide is beautifully produced and printed, featuring numerous detailed illustrations to aid reliable identification. What process do you go through when selecting an expert illustrator for each guide?

We’re lucky to have good working relationships with several artists, so we have a regular group we tend to use, some of whom are experts in their field too. Sometimes we can reuse existing artwork such as Richard Lewington’s butterflies and dragonflies – the detail on these is exquisite and so accurate, even down to wing venation.

Other times we might need to commission new illustrations, and it is always good to see these develop. Lizzie Harper does many of our plant illustrations, and we recently worked with her on the Waterside Plants WildID guide. Once we have decided on the species and the features that need illustrating, Lizzie will produce sketches that the final artwork will be based on – it’s always an exciting moment when these arrive!

Suddenly you can start to visualise the finished guide. This is the time to check the details. Are any modifications needed? Are there particular features, such as hairs, that need to be brought out in the final painting? All of this is discussed, and then we sit back and wait for the finished artwork to arrive. Lizzie has a lovely blog on her website, which gives an insight into how she develops her artwork.

fungi WildID guide next to a mushroom on the floor — Our selection of new fungi WildID guides feature beautiful illustrations and have been very popular this autumn.

What are some of the challenges that the charity has faced over the past few years, and what are your hopes for the future of the Field Studies Council going forward?

One of the biggest challenges was COVID-19 – lockdown meant that our field centres were closed, and the majority of staff were placed on furlough. But it was also an opportunity, and sales of the wildlife guides flourished as more people had time to spend outdoors exploring.

During this period, we also developed a couple of online natural history courses. These proved extremely popular, and over time we’ve increased our range to over 44 topics which we run every year. Feedback on these showed that it was a fantastic way for people to learn about nature from their own home, especially with time restrictions or accessibility constraints.

We hope to continue to increase the variety of online training we offer; while improving accessibility, we will also be mirroring these topics in our practical field-based courses to offer progression routes.

With 2025 just around the corner, are there any exciting new projects on the horizon that we can hear about?

We are always working on new guides. Some are still a few years away from completion, but a guide to raptors in flight is nearly finished and an AIDGAP guide to micro ladybirds and another fungi guide are planned for 2025. We also have a sedges guide in development, which will hopefully be progressing to the layout stage next year.

We’re also thinking about beetles, and working on another introductory guide series to common wildlife that we hope to launch in the spring.

WildID Lichen Guide — We have over 100 WildID guides to choose from, covering everything from lichens to ladybirds.

Author interview with Richard Broughton: The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit

Marking the first monograph for either species, Richard Broughton’s The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit reveals the remarkable lives of these wonderful little birds. Compiling decades of personal research, as well as a detailed review of external studies from across both Europe and Asia, it explores each species’ taxonomy, food and foraging patterns, social organisation, challenges and conservation, alongside more than 150 illustrations, maps, charts and photographs.

Dr Richard Broughton is a research ecologist with a wealth of experience across birds, mammals, forests and farmland in Great Britain and Europe. He has studied Marsh Tits, Willow Tits and their habitats for over 25 years, and prior to this he completed a Master’s degree in GIS as well as a PhD in Marsh Tit ecology, before joining the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Cambridgeshire.

We recently chatted to Richard about his inspiration for the book, which challenges he faced when developing such a detailed study of these two species and more.

You have studied Willow Tits and Marsh Tits for much of your career. What initially captivated you about these charismatic birds, and what inspired you to write a book about them?

I had Willow Tits on my local patch in Hull when I was a youngster at school, and I had Marsh Tits and Willow Tits around my first office near Huntingdon when I started my science career. Both species were always a bit special and enigmatic – not so common that you saw them every day, but when you did it was like seeing parallel lives going on around you. They’re a lot like us, mostly preferring to live as couples in stable relationships, with busy social lives and a close attachment to their neighbourhood.

From a research perspective, Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are fantastic species to study. They are widespread from Britain to Japan, they’re territorial and they don’t migrate, so the same birds are present all year round and you can really get to know them – how they communicate, organise themselves within their communities and solve the problems of living in different types of woodland, it’s all really fascinating. And there’s so much that we still don’t know, with lots of discoveries to be made, but also some urgency. We don’t fully understand exactly why they’re declining in many areas, so the inspiration for writing the book was partly to bring together all that we know about their ecology and what pressures they’re facing. If Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are struggling, then we need to listen to what this is telling us about our woodlands and forests.

Both species have suffered severe range declines – how can the general public work to better support these birds amid habitat loss and climate change?

The main thing is to know where Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are still hanging on, and where they are declining – taking part in surveys and reporting sightings to the county recorders and BirdTrack are great ways of helping to monitor both species. Protecting and expanding their habitat is essential, but for that we need to know where they are, and in what numbers.

It’s also important to realise how we can unintentionally make things harder for Marsh Tits and Willow Tits when we do favours for their competitors. There is growing evidence that increasing numbers of Blue Tits and Great Tits could be harming Marsh Tits and Willow Tits by taking over their nests and dominating their foraging space. The vast scale of bird-feeding in gardens, woodlands and nature reserves is changing our woodland bird communities, and it really boosts the dominant species, which can then put extra pressure on Marsh Tits and Willow Tits. For this reason, it’s important to consider the unintended negative impacts of well-meaning interventions, such as bird-feeding and nestboxes, on more vulnerable species like these.

I was surprised to learn about the ineffectiveness of nest boxes in supporting Marsh and Willow Tit populations in relation to competition. Do you think this is also the case for other species across the UK, and what alternatives could we use to mitigate this issue?

The problem with nestboxes for Marsh Tits and Willow Tits is that they’re far more likely to increase the densities of their dominant competitors, especially Blue Tits. If you add more nestboxes to a woodland then you will get more Blue Tits, but Marsh Tits and Willow Tits don’t work that way.

This is because they have much larger territories, and you could fit 15 pairs of Blue Tits into a typical Marsh Tit or Willow Tit territory. These large areas contain enough natural nest sites for Marsh Tits and Willow Tits, and so these species are limited by the area of woodland habitat and not by tree cavities or deadwood for building their nests. As such, adding nestboxes cannot increase the numbers of Marsh Tits or Willow Tits like it does for Blue Tits.

This shows how it is important to fully understand a species’ ecology for any conservation actions to work. A better solution is to promote diverse, wilder woodlands that have plenty of opportunities for Marsh Tits, Willow Tits and other woodland species at more natural densities. If not over-managed, woodland can quite quickly develop enough nesting sites on its own.

Within the book you mention the woodland restoration projects being undertaken in Scotland, which are striving to establish woodlands to support native species, including Marsh Tits and Willow Tits. Can re-establishing these complex habitats truly help to encourage population growth? And what would be your main recommendations for large-scale restoration projects with these species in mind?

Expanding woodland habitat is a good way to help buffer Marsh Tits and Willow Tits from population declines, as the losses in Britain are greatest in areas of more fragmented habitat. In Finland, too, logging and habitat loss is driving population declines. Increasing the amount of woodland reduces habitat fragmentation, which in turn helps birds to disperse across the landscape and provides space for more breeding pairs, so it can only help. The natural range of Willow Tits, and probably of Marsh Tits, once covered much of Scotland, and so restoring forest cover in that country could help to re-establish their populations.

Looking ahead, Scotland could eventually provide an important refuge for Marsh Tits and Willow Tits, being further from the intensive agriculture, urbanisation and more intense warming of southern Britain. We can look to other natural and regenerating forests in Europe to see what this restoration could look like in Scotland and elsewhere in Britain – varied tree density and structural diversity, lots of standing and fallen deadwood, and plenty of water in streams, pools and soils. Where we still have such places in Europe, like in Poland’s Bia?owie?a Forest, then Marsh Tits and Willow Tits both find places to live in different parts of the same woodland.

The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit is very thoroughly researched and includes an extensive breadth of information. Did you encounter any challenges when developing such a detailed study of these two species?

I was lucky that there have been major studies of Marsh Tits and Willow Tits in Europe over the past century, and I have been involved with several of them in recent decades, so I was familiar with their findings. For other studies, it has never been easier to find and access published papers and reports online, and even to translate them automatically.

Nevertheless, it was still quite challenging to find many studies from Asia, which is where more than half of the world’s Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are thought to live, along with their closest relatives, the Black-bibbed Tit, Caspian Tit and Sichuan Tit. This is slowly changing, as more research is being done in China, Japan and South Korea, but there are still large gaps. In Europe, too, we still know relatively little about Marsh Tits or Willow Tits in some regions. Even in Britain, the recent discovery of a previously unknown population of Marsh Tits in the Scottish Borders shows that we still have things to learn!

What have been some of your favourite moments while researching this book? And did any of your discoveries surprise you?

It’s been a great pleasure to look back through all of the previous studies of Marsh Tits and Willow Tits and pay tribute to the dedicated researchers who spent so many years in the woods and forests, peering into the lives of these little birds. What shone through for me is just how connected the forest ecosystem really is. Marsh Tits and Willow Tits are part of a complex web of life, with some really surprising relationships. For example, Bison and Red Deer stripping bark from trees helps to create the cavities that are the Marsh Tit’s favourite nest sites. Meanwhile, Willow Tits forage on carrion from Wolf kills, which helps them to survive northern winters. At the other end of the spectrum, Marsh Tits and Willow Tits both drink nectar from blossom and might be significant pollinators of woodland shrubs, and they might also be seed dispersers for some woodland plants.

We’re just starting to understand these relationships, but in many parts of Europe they have been broken by the loss of forest species, such as large mammals. It’s exciting to think that nature restoration and rewilding could rebuild some of these ecological networks in our woodlands. Again, there’s still so much to learn about Marsh Tits and Willow Tits, but getting to know them opens a window into the wider forest ecosystem, and the more you look, the more you find.

Finally, what is occupying your time now? Are there new books on the horizon that you can tell us about?

I’m still monitoring my Marsh Tit population at Monks Wood in Cambridgeshire, coming up to 24 years of study, and I’m busy with interesting research at UKCEH on hedgerows, woodland regeneration, sustainable farming and nature restoration. In the past year I’ve been busy as the new Editor in Chief of the BTO’s scientific journal Bird Study, helping other researchers to publish their studies. I’m also still involved with research at the Biaowiea Forest in Poland, which always has exciting opportunities, and last spring I was there finding the nests of Marsh Tits, Willow Tits and Wood Warblers. The Wood Warbler is another declining woodland bird that has lots of really fascinating and surprising behaviour, and that’s another species that I think could be worth writing about.

The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit is available to order from our online bookstore here.

This Week in Biodiversity News – 18th November

Extinction

A paper published over the weekend revealed that the Slender-billed Curlew is likely to be extinct, with the last sighting recorded in Morocco in 1995. Marking the first known global bird extinction from the Western Palearctic, this species was previously common across mainland Europe, north Africa and west Asia, with populations found nowhere else in the world. The confirmation of the loss of this species of curlew comes just a month after COP16 took place in Cali, Columbia, which focused on increasing efforts to halt the loss of flora and fauna.

Wildlife and environment

Deforestation in the Amazon has fallen by 31%, marking a nine-year low. Despite this, deforestation is still a concern for Brazil, and an area the size of Delaware was cleared within the last year. The Amazon is facing a different set of pressures as climate change progresses – severe drought has contributed to a significant 18-fold surge in wildfires, which is impacting much of South America, including the biologically rich Pantanal in Brazil.

a small mouse resting on a bush branch — Image by Frank Vassen via Flickr

One of Britain’s rare mammals has been found in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. As an element of the park’s Cysylltu Natur project, which aims to protect 25% of the park’s northern section by 2025, dormouse nesting tubes were placed along areas of woodland on site. Licensed volunteers have discovered that dormice have inhabited the boxes, resulting in an exciting milestone in boosting nature recovery for the park.

Conservation

Two sites on the rivers Wear and Tyne are under consideration for saltmarsh restoration. Groundwork North East & Cumbria have applied for permission to undertake work in these areas to compensate for construction along the riverbank and heavy industrialisation in the area. The work will expand and restore existing habitat without removing waterside infrastructure – this restoration will slow the river flow and allowing sediment to build, in turn providing habitat for fish, invertebrates and other aquatic life.

The first of fourty-eight Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) has been developed for the West of England. The strategies are conceived by local authorities, communities, NGO’s and government agencies to identify focus areas for nature. These locally led, evidence-based plans were conceived to prioritise nature investment and target efforts for environmental restoration where it is needed most. LNRS’s will eventually be rolled out to cover all of England, helping to coordinate target action to meet biodiversity commitments.

the tops of aspen trees against the sky, the leaves are orange and yellow — Image by Oyvind Holmstad via Flickr

Cairngorms National Park has launched an initiative to save one of Scotland’s most threatened tree species – Aspen. Partnered with Trees for Life, the Cairngorms National Park Authority will be mapping the health and location of existing Aspen populations, and the data will be used to guide the planting of new trees within the forest. Deemed one of Scotland’s most vital native trees, this once-common species has undergone extreme declines due to deforestation and overgrazing. It is hoped that the project can be used as a blueprint to roll out Aspen conservation across Scotland, securing biodiversity benefits for the environment.

Policy

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revealed new climate targets for the UK. Announced at COP29 in Azerbaijan, the UK will now aim for 81% reductions in emissions by 2035. This new target updates a previous pledge of 78% made by the Conservative government, and comes after recommendations from the UK’s Climate Change Committee. This new pledge will help to support the UK’s move to net zero by 2050, and although the UK is currently running behind on delivering cuts, this new target will provide local economic growth and investment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a session at COP29 — Image by Number 10 via Flickr

The Environmental Audit Committee will be examining the environmental impact of Labour’s planning reforms. This inquiry comes after an early pledge to build 1.5 million homes over a five year period. To do this, there are proposed changes to the national planning policy framework, which would enable the government to release land for housing development. The inquiry will question whether these reforms can maintain current levels of environmental protection, and is seeking views on the implications of these reforms on nature and the climate.

Author interview with Dr. Tim Reed: Protected Species and Biodiversity – A Guide for Planners and Ecologists

Protected Species and Biodiversity: A Guide for Planners and Ecologists is a comprehensive, accessible book that collates every key element required to gather and interpret survey data for protected species.

Progressing through individual species and group tables, and providing information on planning systems, biodiversity, government guidance and its interpretation, how to secure better quality data, biodiversity net gain and more, this guide also codifies what a planner can expect from an ecologist to ensure the effective safeguarding of protected species. As such, it is an essential reference guide for planners and ecological consultants alike.

Dr. Tim Reed has had a lifelong interest in the use of data quality and survey methods as a basis for credible decision-making by those whose actions influence landscapes and protected areas. This has included developing survey methods for waders on moorland, standardising nature reserve management plan formats, chairing development groups for national-level databases, and collaborating with the EU on data standards for directives. Over the past 20 years, Tim has helped major worldwide corporate companies establish biodiversity as part of their risk-management processes, while also working on public inquiries across the UK.

We recently had the opportunity to chat to Tim about what inspired him to write a book aimed at planners and ecologists, how Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) could potentially affect protected species across the UK, the importance of technological advancements in accurate data collection and more.

Firstly, as someone who has spent most of their career working in planning and sustainable development, what inspired you to write this book?

Years ago, when working on immigration and extinctions in island bird communities, one of the things that impressed, but also worried me, was the extreme variability in the quality of data from year to year. Were the gaps in species records (apparent extinctions) real, or were they due to issues with data collection or recording? Moving onto protected areas and the related planning policy framework, the same problems with data quality surfaced there.

Later, when I began working on planning disputes it was clear that local planning authorities (LPAs) were staffed by good, but often overwhelmed, planners. A series of Association of Local Government Ecologists (ALGE) reports have confirmed this. ALGE reckoned there were issues of capacity (people/time) and competence (often limited specialist knowledge) that stopped LPAs doing what they wanted to do. These remain today.

Looking at the often frankly poor material dumped onto them by would-be developers, it was and is hard for planners to know how to address it, how to find out what’s needed, and where the gaps were and are. Suitable methods had been scattered across journals, books, and specialist documents, and were often hard to fathom. The absence of a recent one-stop synthesis of most of the material needed was the main driver for Protected Species and Biodiversity; trying to fill an acknowledged hole. The fact that Natural England and DEFRA’s guidance for Protected Species left much to be desired was a further problem. The idea of the guide was to try and provide an accessible way of seeing what needed doing. Something that would be suitable for planners, householders and developers’ ecologists alike – and for LPA planners to use and see if what had been claimed by applicants had been done properly, or not.

If the guide works, then the hope is that a better, more informed level of debate can take place. If so, better data will be provided and protected species and biodiversity will be the winners. The core methods section (Chapter 5) is suitable for protected species in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) on a gloved hand. — Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) by J P, via flickr.

Biodiversity Net Gain is a recent development in planning and land management. How do you think the introduction of this policy will affect protected species across the UK?

As I try to show in the last bit of the guide, BNG isn’t focused at all on protected species; delivery is still expected through protected species legislation. Yet, there is clearly a hope that BNG will sneak in more of all sorts of species, some of which may be rare or protected. Duffus et al (2024) have neatly shown that the score in the area-condition metric used by BNG isn’t related to either species richness or abundance. Instead, more information is needed, along with species surveys. If so, then they need doing well – and there is a debate to be had on that in the guide too.

This book emphasises the importance of collecting high-quality data for use in planning. As data quality improves, could there be a shift in our understanding of the UK’s condition? And could the true state of the UK’s biodiversity be worse than we initially thought?

Better knowledge, better use of standardised methods, and a better understanding of what the resultant data does or doesn’t mean, along with less use of unverified mitigation techniques: all will help us understand potential impacts of planning proposals on biodiversity a little bit better than we do now.

Better data might well show problems, but could also help in some circumstances by showing that some things are better than we thought, or by waving a flag before it is too late to act. Getting consistently reliable data will allow more meaningful actions at a local and wider scale.

Great Crested Newt by Leonora (Ellie) Enking. — Great Crested Newt by Leonora (Ellie) Enking, via flickr.

Chapter 5 offers an extensive insight into the data local authorities should collate when conducting an in-depth evaluation of protected species. Did you face any challenges in keeping this section accurate?

Of course things do, and will continue to, change. Even when the first draft of the text was completed there were basic changes in NE/DEFRA guidance that required reappraisals and revisions. The species guidance was equally dynamic. So, yes, it was tricky keeping up to date. The role of the guide is to bring together what we knew at the time of writing in an accessible way. If things change dramatically, there may be a case for a revised version in 5-10 years’ time. But in the meantime, it is there and might as well help people trying to understand what needs doing, or where claims need contesting, and why.

How important do you think technological advancements, such as bioacoustic methods, will play in collecting more accurate data?

Technology is critical in helping us better interpret the environment. For example, I use a range of bat recorders, and recorders have got better, and more efficient with time.

Technological improvements are fine, but they still come with error terms. Knowing and stating the limitations of methods and data are critical to help us understand what we can and can’t do with a set of data. In Public Inquiries, I regularly saw untenable claims relating to bat data that rarely matched the reality of the technology used. Query this, and the case often began to fragment. eDNA has its own issues too. So, yes in principle to advances in technology, but yes also to clear health warnings and stated limitations in any planning submissions that use them.

Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) by Frank Vassen. — Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) by Frank Vassen, via flickr.

What do you hope readers and practitioners will take away from your book?

The main message is that good data is key to an informed discussion between developers, opponents and planners. Being able to see what is needed, how it might be done, and why the precepts of BS 42020 (Biodiversity Standard) are core to the process. Openness, transparency and knowing what is needed will help us all – and biodiversity in particular. Poor data, bad methods and doubtful claims won’t help. If this guide helps LPAs pick some of those up, then it was worth writing.

Finally, what is occupying your time at the moment? Are you working on any other projects we can hear about?

Although now largely retired, I continue to write a blog on matters that interest me: serious and whimsical. I’m standing down now from Chairing a Friend’s Group for an island nature reserve. Having written the management plan for the site, the dim and distant origins of the island intrigue me, and there are plans in the pipework for a small book on the history and ecology of the island.

Protected Species and Biodiversity: A Guide for Planners and Ecologists is available from our online bookstore.

The NHBS Guide to UK Grassland Fungi

In the past 75 years, over 90% of western Europe’s grasslands have disappeared. These overlooked and undervalued habitats deliver essential ecosystem services that contribute to the function of the planet – they provide key wildlife habitat, can store large amounts of carbon, and are instrumental in mitigating soil erosion and flood management, which is essential as our landscapes adapt to climate change.

Grassland fungi – such as those outlined in this identification guide – form a distinctive community in these habitats and are key indicators of ancient meadow and unimproved grassland. These species fruit from late summer until winter, and vary greatly in size, shape, colour and texture, from the pale, spherical Earthball to vibrant, slender coral fungi.

In this guide, explore a selection of grassland fungi groups, as well as individual species, that are commonly found across Britain, and read about their identifying features, size and distribution.

Groups

Waxcaps (Hygrocybe)

Identification: There are about 150 different species of Hygrocybe (meaning ‘watery head’) in the UK, and these are a very easily identifiable group. They are characterised by their vibrant, smooth waxy caps that come in a range of bright colours, including red, pink, yellow, orange and brown. When present on the fruiting body, gills are thick but evenly coloured and spaced.

Distribution: Found in nutrient-poor grasslands, such as grazed upland, and often grow alongside other groups including Pinkgills, Corals, Clubs and Earthtongues throughout late summer and autumn.

Size: 5-7cm

Club and Corals (Clavariaceae)

Yellow club fungus. — Yellow club fungus by Jo Graeser.

Identification: These distinctive fungi are easily recognisable by their slender, forking branches that are often rooted in buried wood. They have thick, dense finger or club shaped stalks that grow from a central base, often in clusters, and can be bright yellow, pale pink or white. Coral fungi produce yellow spores from the tip of their branches.

Distribution: Coral fungi predominantly grow on wood, but can also be found in soil, leaf litter or in short grasses and moss from July to November.

Size: 4-10cm

Wood Pinkgill (Entoloma rhodopolium)

Brown caps of wood pinkgill mushrooms (Entoloma rhodopolium) in Huntsville State Park. Texas. — Brown caps of wood pinkgill mushrooms (Entoloma rhodopolium) via Texas Mushrooms.

Identification: Often found in large groups, this very common pinkgill mushroom is defined by its convex, rounded fruiting body that flattens at the bottom of the skirt. Juvenile mushrooms have tightly packed white gills, and turn a light shade of pink with maturity. They feature a long, smooth, lightly coloured stem measuring 4-9cm long.

Distribution: Most commonly found throughout the summer until late autumn in deciduous broadleaf woodlands.

Size: 3-5cm

Note: Poisonous

Species

Earthtongue fungi (Geoglossum fallax)

Earthtongues - Glutinoglossum by Lukas Large, via flickr. — Earthtongues – Glutinoglossum by Lukas Large, via flickr.

Identification: A widespread species found across Britain and Ireland, Earthtongues are characterised by black or dark brown stromata with a single, club-like fruiting body growing from a cylindrical, scaly stem. The head is grooved and makes up a third of the body, and it is covered in fine hairs to protect its fertile spores.

Distribution: Grows in mossy, unimproved and acidic grassland such as old churchyards from August to November.

Size: 2-7cm

Common Inkcap (Coprinopsis atramentaria)

Inkcap Trio by Derek Winterburn, via flickr.

Identification: Starting off as a smooth, egg-shaped ball with scaled central area, the grey or greyish-brown cap later expands into a soft bell shape with a slight curve at its margin. The stem of an inkcap is smooth and reddish-brown in colour, with hundreds of crowded gills that are white at first, but later darken to brown and black before being auto-digested by the fruiting head.

Distribution: Fruits in small clumps on tree stumps, buried hardwood, woodland footpaths and parkland from May until November. Some solitary specimens have been sighted on occasion.

Size: 3-7cm

Note: Poisonous

Petticoat Mottlegill (Panaeolus papilionaceus)

Identification: Petticoat Mottlegills are recognisable by their smooth bell caps with a serrated edge, and can be pale brown, greyish-brown or pallid grey, with a darker centre. The fused-together gills are a pale, greyish brown with white edges that turn dark brown and black with maturity, and the thin, cylindrical stem is covered in a fine white powder.

Distribution: Commonly located in groups on rotted dung from June to November.

Size: 6-12cm

Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum)

Identification: Ranging from light ochre to mid-brown or green, with a yellow tinge on its upper surface, the Earthballs rounded, fruiting body is attached to the ground with white mycelial threads and is stemless. It has tough, thick skin covered in coarse scales that vary in size and shape, which rupture as the head matures to allow the wind and rain to disperse its spores – which are white when young, and darken to brown or purple with age. These empty shells often remain in sheltered woodland hollows for many months before decaying.

Distribution: Acidic, well-drained soil near forest paths or on shady banks from July to early December.

Size: 4-10cm

Common Parasol (Macrolepiota procera)

Parasol Fungi by Bernard Spragg, via flickr.

Identification: This edible species of mushroom is round in shape with a pale brown, spherical cap that darkens as it nears the crown. The cap breaks into a scaly texture that features a darker brown, central bump called an umbo. The broad, crowded gills of Common Parasol mushrooms are white or pale cream, and the cap has a white flesh when cut into. The tough, fibrous stem is surrounded by a smooth, white double-edged ring decorated with small brown scales that are comparable to snakeskin.

Distribution: Commonly found on verges, neglected grassland or cliffs, with multiple mushrooms growing in a slightly wavy line, from July to November.

Size: 10-25cm

The NHBS Guide to UK Bracket Fungi

Bracket fungi (basidiomycetes), also known as shelf or polypore fungi, can grow on both dead or living trees and cause widespread heartwood decay deep inside its host. These fungal bodies appear year-round depending on the species and produce bracket-shaped fruit on the trunk, roots or branches of the host tree that can span up to 70cm in diameter.

There are over 1,000 species of bracket fungi worldwide, and here you can explore a selection of bracket fungi found in Britain, detailing their identifying features, when and where they can be found.

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) – also known as Sulphur polypore’

Identification: This easy to spot, sulphur-yellow fungus can grow up to 40cm in diameter and features numerous thick, soft, overlapping brackets. When young, they have a velvety texture and orange bands across yellow flesh, which fades to light cream with age. Each bracket is fan-shaped with an undulating margin, while the underside has small pores and produces a yellow liquid when squeezed.

Distribution: June to November. Mainly grows on oak tree trunks, but can also be found on Yew, cherry, chestnut and willows.

Size: 10-40cm

Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa)

Identification: This large, very distinctive fungus features many flat, interlocking lobes growing from a dense centre attached to the foot of a tree. The underside of the fronds are cream in colour, their top side can vary from brown to grey, and the flesh is pale cream. It’s very common for multiple growths to emerge from one host, and fully grown hen-of-the-woods can weigh several kilograms.

Distribution: August to November. Predominantly around the base of mature oak trees but they do occasionally grow on other deciduous species.

Size: Up to 70cm

Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor)

Turkeytail Fungi (Trametes versicolor) by Jo Graeser.

Identification: Turkeytail fungi produce thin but tough semi-circular caps in tight, overlapping tiers that have a slightly hairy, velvety texture. It has a range of concentrated coloured rings that are a mix of black, brown, grey, yellow, purple and green, however the outer ring along the edge of the bell is pale in colour. Often confused with Stereum ostrea (or False Turkeytail) this species can be correctly identified by its white underside featuring hundreds of visible pores.

Distribution: Can be found on fallen hardwood trees such as Beech or oak throughout the year, but is most abundant from late spring to autumn.

Size: 4-10cm

Beefsteak (Fistulina hepatica)

Beefsteak fungus (WGP). — Image by David Short via flickr.

Identification: This bracket fungus can be pink, red or brown in colour, with a light underside full of pores that turn red with age. Featuring a slightly inflated edge that flattens as it matures, Beefsteak fungus is moist to the touch and produces smooth, round, pale pink spores.

Distribution: August to November. Usually found in broadleaved woodlands on oak trees.

Size: 6-25cm

Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) – Also known as the Razorstrop fungus

Identification: Birch Polypore is a common bracket fungus that grows exclusively on birch trees. It has a rounded, brown-white cap with a rubber or leather-like texture and white pores on its underside.

Distribution: It can be found year-round on the lower trunk of birch trees and fallen birch branches.

Size: 10-20cm

Dryads Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus)

More Dryad's saddle. — Image by Andrew Hill via flickr.

Identification: This species of fungi grows in overlapping tiers on dead or dying broad-leaved trees, particularly elm, Beech and Sycamore. Recognisable by their distinctly textured, creamy-ochre brackets, these fungiemerge at soil level at the base of the host tree or higher up the trunk. The underside of the fruit features hundreds of honeycomb-shaped pores.

Distribution: This fungus fruits in the summer and again in autumn, and is most commonly seen from April to September on deciduous trees and fallen wood on the forest floor.

Size: Up to 70cm

Southern Bracket (Ganoderma australe)

Identification: Southern Bracket fungi can grow on both living and dying deciduous trees and first appear in the form of solid, white balls. Over a number of years, these develop into large, thick brackets with a flat brownish top and a white underside. As the fungus ages, the smooth top can become ridged and bumpy, and when the underside is scored it produces dark brown marks. This fungus can be easily confused with the Artists Fungi ( applanatum), however they can be distinguished by examining their spores under a microscope.

Distribution: This is the most common species of the Ganoderma genus and fruits on most deciduous trees from April to August.

Size: Up to 60cm

King Alfred’s Cakes (Daldinia concentrica)

Identification: These fungi present themselves in the form of hard, round lumps roughly the size of a golf ball and are a matt, pinky-brown colour when young. As they mature, they darken to a coal colour and become shiny in appearance. The outer surface is solid but cracks easily, while the inside of the fruit is easily identified by black and grey concentric rings that are darker than the flesh. King Alfred’s Cakes are also known as coal fungus as they can be used as kindling or firelighters.

Distribution: Can be found year-round in deciduous woodland, especially on fallen Beech and Ash branches.

Size: 2-10cm

Horses Hoof (Fomes fomentarius)

Horse Hoof Fungi, Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. — Image by Nigel Turner via flickr.

Identification: As evident from the name, this species of fungi is typically shaped like a horse’s hoof, with a pointed top and wide bottom. Featuring concentrated ridges across its exterior and with a fleshy, fibrous inside, their blunt, rounded margin is often cream or yellow. Although they can vary from silvery-grey to black in colour, most specimens are shades of brown. Small circular pores under the bell start off cream in colour and darken to brown once the fruit has matured. On occasion, some Horses Hoofs appear in more of a traditional, flat bracket shape.

Distribution: Can be found growing year-round on weak, living or dead hardwood deciduous trees, particularly Birch.

Size: 5 to 45cm

Fungi Under the Lens and Fork: An NHBS Booklist

Parasol Mushroom by S. Rae via flickr. — Parasol Mushroom by S. Rae, via flickr.

In the early stages of the average mushroom-enthusiast’s journey, there comes a time where you begin to consider where you can take the interest of fungi further. Maybe you have identified all the mushrooms in your garden and want to learn more, or maybe you’ve even been intrepid, foraging and sampling some of the edible species out there, and are left wanting more. What ‘more’ looks like to some people becomes growing your own mushrooms, making spore prints, creating your own ink from the dripping tops of an inkcap mushroom, or perhaps you may want to look down a microscope to explore the sub-perceptual world of fungal microscopy, and that’s what these books aim to facilitate.

However you choose to flesh out your interest, the books below provide an excellent guide to the next steps in mycology.

Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing and Working with Fungi

Radical Mycology is an awesome book in a very biblical sense. it inspires awe and in a more modern sense it is simply really, really cool. This book is a single man’s knowledge of all things fungi, distilled into 646 pages of rich prose, instruction and guidance. It moves through topics, that many other books have tackled in single volumes alone, in sections such as ethnomycology, culture, cultivation, medicine (*see footnote) and lab work, and does so in a way that doesn’t feel clunky or dense. I don’t think there is a topic in mycology that isn’t covered by this book in some way, and that to me makes it a unique treasure trove of knowledge. A field guide it is not, being quite large and very heavy, and it is not trying to pretend to be anything other than a treatise on the world of mycology. Filled with activities and projects that you can do yourself, it is not a passive book. It gets you interacting with and manipulating fungi, working with them in a way that you would not otherwise, and for that I think it is highly recommended for every reader, from the beginner to the professional. And if none of that takes your fancy, there is even a section on mushroom–related puns and a printout–and–play boardgame!

Growing Mushrooms at Home: The Complete Guide to Knowing, Growing and Loving Fungi

A more focussed look at cultivation and less dense than Radical Mycology, this book is primarily aimed at beginners who are looking to expand their knowledge of cultivation in its many forms, and is filled with simple, easy to follow text and beautiful images of mushrooms. It is designed to be accessible, so I would wager that this title is not suited for those of you with more experience in the field. But, for a first foray into mushroom cultivation this might be the book for you.

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation takes a deeper dive into the same topic as the previous title. The book spans from easy projects that you can do at home with very little resources, to more advanced techniques that even the most experienced mycologist would enjoy having under their belt. The book also touches on mycoremediation (using mushrooms to improve the environment, from pollutants etc.), which is a wholly worthy topic on its own and will open your eyes to the potential for individuals to change the world for the better. After all, anyone who’s anyone in mycology has tried growing mushrooms on their old clothes, right?

Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms: A Companion Guide to the Mushroom Cultivator

No list of mushroom cultivation books would be complete without a title by Paul Stamets – and this one is no exception. A dated publication now, owing to its original publishing in 1988 and subsequent re-prints in 1994 and 2000, have meant this this book has taken a back seat to the new shiny covers in the field. However, this has not dulled its brilliance at all, and it remains one of the most influential books on mushroom cultivation. The book contains foundational knowledge on mushroom cultivation for the amateur grower and is still held in high regard by anyone with a slight interest in modern mushroom cultivation. A must read and a true introduction to mastering the art of mushroom cultivation.ng mycologist.

* ‘Mushroom medicine’ is a term used often in fungal–oriented literature, and sometimes quite liberally. I would be remiss to note that processes, procedures and purported effects are anecdotal and not always backed up by peer–reviewed empirical research, and in a lot of cases research is ongoing. This is not to say it is not true, it’s to say that more research is usually needed. Be aware of the legality of foraging mushrooms in your area and remember, don’t munch on a hunch! Always ID your mushrooms and if you are not 100% confident consult a professional.