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Description
Saving Species on BBC Radio 4 explores biodiversity, conservation and natural history, both in the UK and across the globe. We go in search of fungi this week with expert Lynne Boddy. We have previ...ously reported the importance of microbes in Saving Species. "It's the little things that run the world" Aaron Bernstein from Harvard University told us. Fungi belong to that group of little things - but some fungi are not so little. One type forms the largest terrestrial living organism on earth with its matrix of underground roots [hyphae] spreading across an area the size of a football pitch. We're in a west Wales woodland looking for the wonderful fruiting bodies, at the time of year when the otherwise hidden fungi emerges from the ground with their beautiful, odd, weird and strangely shaped and coloured mushrooms. And they have as many intriguing common names as they are varied in appearance. We discover the crucial role fungi have in keeping woodlands alive. We're also back in Africa with a report from Tessa McGregor about the successful conservation of the Grevy's Zebra in the Samburu National Park in Kenya.
Saving Species on BBC Radio 4 explores biodiversity, conservation and natural history, both in the UK and across the globe. We go in search of fungi this week with expert Lynne Boddy. We have previ...ously reported the importance of microbes in Saving Species. "It's the little things that run the world" Aaron Bernstein from Harvard University told us. Fungi belong to that group of little things - but some fungi are not so little. One type forms the largest terrestrial living organism on earth with its matrix of underground roots [hyphae] spreading across an area the size of a football pitch. We're in a west Wales woodland looking for the wonderful fruiting bodies, at the time of year when the otherwise hidden fungi emerges from the ground with their beautiful, odd, weird and strangely shaped and coloured mushrooms. And they have as many intriguing common names as they are varied in appearance. We discover the crucial role fungi have in keeping woodlands alive. We're also back in Africa with a report from Tessa McGregor about the successful conservation of the Grevy's Zebra in the Samburu National Park in Kenya.
| Series: | Saving species; Series 1 |
|---|---|
| Episode | 23 |
| First transmission date: | 2010-10-05 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 4 |
| Published: | 2010 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:30:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Sheena Duncan |
| Presenter: | Brett Westwood |
| Contributors: | Lynne Boddy; Kelvin Boot; Tessa McGregor; Ted Oakes; Lynn Rogers; Chris Sperring; Brett Westwood |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Production number: | PBS04010WZ0023 |
| Available to public: | no |
