Thanks to the March rains,
wild mushrooms are out on the watershed. Our Habitat Restoration Project manager Mauli Vora sent blogspot pictures of a couple of the species that are there these days. Mushrooms aren't plants, but fruits of fungi underground that sprout in wet weather. And those fungi are vital to forest health
and diversity.
They are robust, wide-ranging underground webs of long thread-like tubes that connect
with the fine tips of partner tree rootlets. Different fungi species
have ongoing, mutually beneficial interactions with particular partner trees,
like the watershed’s native Coastal live oaks.
The fungi tubes conduct sugars
and other compounds from tree to mushroom, while they continually relay minerals and water from soil to rootlets, invigorating the whole root system and boosting tree nutrition and
health. Fungi can even penetrate and extract
water from rocks for a partner tree during a drought, 
Their fruit will be forage for deer, squirrels, banana slugs, insects and other woodland dwellers. Mushrooms continue through the rain months, but the fungal network below sustains partner trees with water and nutrients all year.
The Habitat Restoration Program is bringing back more Coastal live oak forests, along with native grasses and marshland, througout the watershed. The historic habitats provide essential food and shelter for a multitude of insect, bird, and animal species--some found nowhere else in California
The Habitat Restoration Program is bringing back more Coastal live oak forests, along with native grasses and marshland, througout the watershed. The historic habitats provide essential food and shelter for a multitude of insect, bird, and animal species--some found nowhere else in California
Ok, so where is this place?
ReplyDeleteThe mushroom photos were taken at one of our habitat restoration sites in the vicinity of the Crystal Springs Reservoir but, like most of our watershed lands, not accessible to the public and—in this case—not visible from the road. The restrictions have been in place since the initial construction of the first parts of the water system in order to safeguard the water supply and the health of the surrounding lands and their ecosystems. Thank you for your interest.
ReplyDeleteOk, so where can I find the areas that ARE open to the public? The newsletter refrences this, but despite searching I can find no refrence, directions, or maps. Please provide a link to maps of open areas and how to make guided reservations as the newsletter talks about but cannot find anything.
ReplyDeleteAt present, the only access to the Peninsula Watershed is through our Ridge Trail Program of guided hikes and bike rides –please see sfwater.org/ridgetrail. From there, you can link to the reservation system, and also to the Fifield Cahill Ridge Trail map guide at the bottom right. The map shows both the current Ridge Trail system and a separate trail series running along the watershed’s eastern edge—the three-segment Crystal Springs Trail owned and operated by the San Mateo County Parks Department. More information is on their website smcgov/crsytal springs regional trail. (The most popular is the middle segment, the Sawyer Camp Trail.)
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps to answer your questions. If it does not, please feel free to contact me directly at mliapes@sfwater.org.