John Stafford

Currently here in South Australia at the end of what is normally a wet winter, there are a great number of graziers who are in desperate need of soil moisture to sustain pasture growth for their grazing live stock.
So why is it that white European settlers have never really learned the art of proactively managing soil moisture reserves in the many countries that they have invaded. Cool burning of grassland associated with trees was an art practiced by most indigenous people of these lands, yet what we as newcomers have never learned is that the act of burning the grass with a cool fire, actually stimulates saprophytic fungi to set up a biological process in conjunction with mychorrhizal fungi associated with the tree roots to raise water stored in the subsoil up to the topsoil.
Of course to sustain our folly, imposed prohibited burning periods now ensure that this practice is seldom revisited.

The man who planted trees.

Most certainly a great story. But I wonder if it requires a somewhat more intuitive title.

"The man who planted trees with his God who added the mychorrhizal fungi."

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

(John Stafford)

John Stafford wrote:

Phil Stevens wrote:Hi John, and welcome. That's great info...i was completely unaware of the relationship between saprophytic and mycorrhizal fungi. It's also interesting to see the interplay between pasture and trees, and how the edge effect increases productivity. Have you thought about planting more trees into your open paddocks?

Hi Phil, yes spending hours on the tractor mowing grass provides ample time for contemplation. However for an elderly over ripe 85 year old, adding further trees to my 22ha property is beyond both my physical and financial capacity. Further more, although my Fendt 380GTA Tool Carrier with its front mounted twin rotor slasher is a breeze to drive over open paddocks, it is not much chop when trying to dodge numerous trees. This leaves me with herbaceous plants as the sole means of hosting mychorrhizal fungi (MF).

I note that successful advocates of regenerative farming consistently promote plant diversity as the core ingredient to their success without being able to explain why this is so. Could it be that it is biodiversity that guarantees at least some means of hosting MF. In my case a known host in Cats Ear (Hypochaeris) is a regular contributor to the diversity of my pastures. (This is my regular defence to neighbours who fail to appreciate my carpet of yellow flowers).

Phil Stevens wrote:Hi John, and welcome. That's great info...i was completely unaware of the relationship between saprophytic and mycorrhizal fungi. It's also interesting to see the interplay between pasture and trees, and how the edge effect increases productivity. Have you thought about planting more trees into your open paddocks?

Hi Phil, yes spending hours on the tractor mowing grass provides ample time for contemplation. However for an elderly over ripe 85 year old, adding further trees to my 22ha property is beyond both my physical and financial capacity. Further more, although my Fendt 380GTA Tool Carrier with its front mounted twin rotor slasher is a breeze to drive over open paddocks, it is not much chop when trying to dodge numerous trees. This leaves me with herbaceous plants as the sole means of hosting mychorrhizal fungi (MF).

I note that successful advocates of regenerative farming consistently promote plant diversity as the core ingredient to their success without being able to explain why this is so. Could it be that it is biodiversity that guarantees at least some means of hosting MF. In my case a known host in Cats Ear (Hypochaeris) is a regular contributor to the diversity of my pastures. (This is my regular defence to neighbours who fail to appreciate my carpet of yellow flowers).

Quite fortuitously I have first experienced, and then subsequently had explained to me, how mulching pasture triggers a biological process that enhances the entire landscape.
My learning experience began with a dense sward of tall dry Cocksfoot under a Pink Gum woodland. In order to reduce a very serious fire hazard I mowed the grass in late spring. This resulted in having short dry stubble along with a thatch of dry straw.
Next year, being a bit better organised, I mowed the same site when the grass was still green earlier in spring. To my surprise the grass just kept on growing, necessitating further mowing even in summer. The Pink Gum trees that had been affected by severe tree dieback, now began to grow with a renewed vigour.
When attending a forestry field day, I asked a very knowledgeable speaker what I had done to achieve such favourable results. "The answer is simple. When you mowed the green grass you were actually feeding saprophytic fungi that has a symbiotic relationship with root associated mychorrhizal fungi. Come summer, when the topsoil begins to dry, this fungal association generates hydraulic pressure in the subsoil to lift moisture back to the topsoil.
I currently have five locations of native woodland which I "irrigate" in summer by the above process, and my soil now has an organic carbon content of 10%.
However the same result is not so easily obtained in my open pastures. My conclusion is that away from the trees,
1. There is no shade to help retain moisture in the mulched grass to thereby facilitate digestion by saprophytic fungi.
2. With no tree roots I am now dependent on other plant species to harbour mychorrhizal fungi.
But with perseverance I am learning that something like a flail mower can minimise aeration of the finely mulched grass while hygroscopic additives like molasses can also help retain moisture, thereby ensuring optimum digestion.
This past very dry summer I had my first open paddock sustain a cover of green grass. Please note though that I have a retired property with no gazing stock.

John Stafford