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THE BLACK FOREST

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The Black Forest in Germany is located on the border of France in the west and Switzerland in the south. It is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg and is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. It has also been the source of inspiration for a number of fables the most famous of which is Hansel and Gretel. The reason I have focused on this forest in particular is that through my research I have found that it suits the purposes of my thesis project Mushroom Trip extremely well.

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Not only does it have a rich history of fantastic folklore. It is a dark forest that has steady rainfall which make it a perfect breeding ground for mushrooms. The forest also has a deeply established mychorrizal network and is home to several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. This not only fits the themes of my story but it also backs my historical fantasy with real world instances of bloodshed and damage done to the forest itself. Its also a stunning location that has a sort of somber ambiance that will be fun to paint.

On a side note the black forest is filled with Fly Agaric which are a poisonus they have a red cap with white spots. Two of the most famous uses of the mushroom are in the Mario franchise as a power-up items and the platforms in several stages which are based on a fly agaric, and the dancing mushroom sequence in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia.

ANIMALS OF THE BLACK FOREST

Plants of the Black Forest
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Info about Mushrooms

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Mushrooms are a rich, low calorie source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants.

They may also mitigate the risk of developing serious health conditions, such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

They're also great sources of: Selenium.

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Poisonous mushrooms contain a variety of different toxins that can differ markedly in toxicity.

Symptoms of mushroom poisoning may vary from gastric upset to organ failure resulting in death.

Serious symptoms do not always occur immediately after eating, often not until the toxin attacks the kidney or liver, sometimes days or weeks later.

Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus.

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Anatomy of the Mushroom

Mycorrhizal Network

mycorrhizal networks are underground hyphal networks created by mycorrhizal fungi that connect individual plants together and transfer water, carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients and minerals.

The formation of these networks is context-dependent, & can be influenced by factors such as soil fertility, resource availability, host or myco-symbiont genotype, disturbance and seasonal variation.

By analogy to the many roles intermediated by the World Wide Web in human communities, the many roles that mycorrhizal networks appear to play in woodland have earned them a nickname: the Wood Wide Web.

Several positive effects of mycorrhizal networks on plants have been reported. These include increased establishment success, higher growth rate and survivorship of seedlings, improved inoculum availability for mycorrhizal infection, transfer of water, carbon, nitrogen and other limiting resources increasing the probability for colonization in less favorable conditions.

These benefits have also been identified as the primary drivers of positive interactions and feedbacks between plants and mycorrhizal fungi that influence plant species abundance.

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