1. Mycoremediation:
Pleurotus and hydrocarbon
clean up

2. Biology based solutions exist
within the native ecology that
can remediate anthropogenic
pollution
Specific biological processes occur that break down and
transform the anthropogenic pollution.
Native, non-invasive fungi can work in conjunction with the
local ecology as a biological solution to the contaminated land,
innately working to restore homeostasis.
• Bioremediation: cleaning up environmental contamination
via introduction of biota to a system.
• Mycoremediation: bioremediation technique utilizing fungal
enzymatic activity to clean up contamination.
Adapted from “Mycoremediation: Transforming toxins, facilitating systemic health,” (Marshall, 2013)

3. Utilization of fungi for
remediation
 In Situ (on site) bioremediation enables less disturbance and more
containment of toxic substances. No other site needs to be contaminated by
the movement of material.
 Use of native fungus can help increase biodiversity without the risk to the
local ecology.
 Relatively easy and teachable methodology for citizen projects on public as
well as private land.
 Mycelium can pool available nutrients for plant intake, allowing plants to
become better established in deficient soil. Mycelial networks can create
more complex soil structure, reducing erosion and increasing plant
communication, facilitating succession.
 Fruiting bodies could be removed and appropriately contained, incinerated,
or further processed (toxin dependent) through introduction of successive
fungal species.
Adapted from “Mycoremediation: Transforming toxins, facilitating systemic health,” (Marshall, 2013)

4. “There can be no purpose
more enspiriting
than to begin
the age of restoration,
reweaving the wondrous
Diversity of life
that still surrounds us.”
~Edward O. Wilson

5. Why clean up PAH
contamination?
• PAH’s have been deemed carcinogenic and teratogenic.
• Found in human liver tissue and fatty tissues
• Hyperaccumulation of toxins such as PAH can occur in plants grown
in contaminated soils, increasing the risk of the people eating the
produce.

6. PAH enters the soil
There are many different kinds of PAH’s
Most are waste industrial product or partially
combusted fuel sources.
Petroleum products, oil, coal, tar
Overland flow, or stormwater runoff is a major
contributor as the pollutants are swept away with
particulate matter and end up in the soil and
waterways.
Oil spills, leaking storage containers, dump sites, illegal
discharges

7. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon
(PAH) degradation
via fungal enzymatic activity
• Similar bonds exist in wood and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
PAH chemical structure is close enough to lignin
Extracellular enzymes break down lignin and cellulose
Enzymes: laccase and peroxidase, ligninase, cellulase
Pleurotus spp utilize extracellular processes to detoxify the hydrocarbons,
enabling the fungi to withstand environments with higher toxicity
• The fungus excretes the enzymes (extracellular process), breaking
down the polymers into monomers. The chains are broken down and
becomes a form the fungus can metabolize.
Hydrocarbons to carbohydrates
The end product of this process of “mineralization” is CO2 and H20.
Adapted from “Mycoremediation: Transforming toxins, facilitating systemic health,” (Marshall, 2013)

8. Breakdown
of lignin
Same
enzymes
break down
polycyclic
aromatic
hydrocarbon
s (PAH)

9. Oyster Mushroom
Pleurotus sp
Basidiomycete- fruiting body
Saprophytic:
ability to break down woody plant matter
Major activity of saprobic fungi:
“lignocellulose degrading enzymes”
• Successful breakdown of carbon rings, characteristic of
saprophytic fungi, lends to the remediation of PAH
contaminated soils.

10. Pleurotus spp life cycle

11. Common Colorado Pleurotus
species
• Cotton Wood Oyster (P. pulmonaria)
o Presenting later, in summer. Lower elevations along streams, on stumps and
logs.
• Aspen Oyster (P. populinus)
o Presenting earlier, in spring. Mountainous areas in aspen groves.
Identification of spores under microscope is the most accurate way to
discern the difference between the two species.
Summer oysters releasing spores in native habitat in a hardwood forest of west
central OH:
Pleurotus Releasing Spores (1:30 to 2:10)

12. Common Stages of Cultivation
• Spore collection
• Inoculation
• Incubation
• Mycelium growth
Introduction of mycelium to substrate.
(This could be secondary sterile medium
or could be the initial introduction to the land at the
project depending on quality or quantity of mycelium
needed for the project and quality and quantity of initial
growth medium.)

13. Native Eastern Slope
CO habitat
Boulder, Niwot, Nederland, Fort Collins, are a few locations
people commonly find Oyster mushrooms, but there are a
plentitude of locations.
• Looking for regions specifically with the preferred deciduous trees,
Aspen and Cottonwood, of the most common Colorado Pleurotus
species. Harvest sites are often riparian.
• Oysters present early in the spring along with Morels in the Colorado
Front Range.
• Along creeks in flat locations, especially where stumps can be
found. These are a likely host of oyster mushrooms.

14. Limitations
• Change in weather and climate
• Natural disasters, specifically drought and forest fire
• Invasive non native fungi
• Predators (slugs, deer, squirrels, turtles)
• Too high a concentration of toxin in soil.

15. Accessibility
• Storm water controls and horticulture products
already exist that can host fungi spawn.
• Versatility of grow material; there are many
accessible options.
• No harmful chemicals added in the process.
• The fungus can be found in the local environment.
• Fairly simple process being utilized world wide to
facilitate ecosystem health.
• DIY ability is high, so people are utilizing the
information and creating their own workshops,
enabling an iterative process, spreading the
availability of the technology.

16. US Mycoremediation Projects
• National forest service has employed mushroom
compost to increase land health
• Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT),
Bellingham WA 1998- diesel contamination
o Ongoing WSDOT projects
• 2007 SF Bay Cusco Busan oil spill, CA
• Puget Sound clean up, WA
• Dungeness Watershed, WA (water filtration)
• Orcas Island Cayou Lagoon restoration, WA
• Newtown Creek, NYC

17. International Projects
• Amazon Mycorenewal Project in Ecuador
Ongoing experimentation on oil
contaminated land
• Russia and Korea 2007 oil spill remediation
• Germany, China, India, and Russia
have a large body of research in the area.
Amazon Mycorenewal Project

18. Experiential Opportunities
in mycoremediation
• Telluride Mushroom Festival- (Pre festival
mycoremediation course)Telluride CO
• telluridemushroomfest.org
• Fungi for the People- Workshops in Eugene
OR
fungiforthepeople.org
• Fungi Perfecti- Seminars in Olympia WA, kits
fungi.com
• Amazon Mycorenewal Project- Project
Volunteering (work study style) in Sucumbios
Ecuador
amazonmycorenewal.org

19. Citations
• Fortin C. 2012. Salamander and Newt Friends on Oyster Mushrooms. Steep Ravine. http://steepravine.com/post/35059652691/salamander-
and-newt-friends-on-oyster-mushrooms
• Ingham B. 2015. Soil Fungi. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Soils. Available from:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology/?cid=nrcs142p2_053864
• Kuo M. 2005. Pleurotus ostreatus: The oyster mushroom. MushroomExpert.Com. Available from:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotus_ostreatus.html (oyster mushroom tall tree, other stump image)
• Peel N. 2010. The Solution to Pollution: Mycoremediation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Blip.Tv. Available from:
https://archive.org/details/ZoeYoung-TheSolutionToPollutionMycoremediationInTheEcuadorianAma820-2.
• Stamets P. 2010. Mycoremediation and Its Applications to Oil Spills. Reality Sandwich. Retrieved on December 7, 2013 from
http://realitysandwich.com/49898/mycoremediation_and_oil_spills/
• Stamets P. 2000. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Third ed. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley
• 2015. Oyster Mushroom: Pleurotus ostreatus. Available from: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/oyster__mushroom.htm
• 2014. Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). 2015. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). USGS Environmental Health: Toxic
Substances. USGS. Available from: http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/pah.html
• 2014. Pleurotus pulmonarius: Oyster Mushroom, Cottonwood Oyster. Coloradomushrooms.com. Available from:
http://www.coloradomushrooms.com/mushroom.php?id=76
• / (PAH in food)
• 2015. Coal-Tar Sealant and PAH Contamination. Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. http://www.watershedcouncil.org/learn/coal-tar-
sealant-and-pah-contamination/ (diagram PAH sealant)
• 2015. Amazon Mycorenewal Project. http://amazonmycorenewal.org/ (logo)
• Furchgott E. 2014. Commercial/scientific/ multimedia. Blue Heron Multimedia. Available from: http://www.blueheron1.com/#!Mushroom
Life Cycle/zoom/c1n0f/image11tu
• 1983. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Evaluation of Sources and Effects. National Research Council (US) Committee on Pyrene and
Selected Analogues. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US). Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK217754
• http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCIENCE-BIOLOGY-MYCOLOGY-MUSHROOM-FUNGUS-TOADSTOOL-CHART-POSTER-PRINT-BB7301B-
/151169526070