Fungi foraging a threat to protected landscape

Tougher measures are being called for to fight illegal commercial fungi foraging in East Sussex.

The Conservators of Ashdown Forest (CAF), which looks after the 10 square mile (6,400 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wealden, said the annual large scale picking of mushrooms and other species was having a serious impact on the area's biodiversity.

The group is appealing for more help to stop protected heath and woodland being stripped of fungi, which then get sold on to the food industry.

CAF's head of countryside Ash Walmsley said: "Every year we have reports of people loading large bags of fungi into vans - it's really upsetting."

With autumn traditionally regarded as foraging season, Walmsley said the picking had become so indiscriminate that even inedible species - which were of no use to restaurants - were being taken.

"Swathes of woodland are being stripped, leaving areas that should be full of mushrooms completely bare," he said, adding that the organisms play a vital role in decomposing organic matter and maintaining essential healthy soil.

Ashdown Forest's rare fungi species, such as the endangered tiered tooth fungus, are also under threat from foragers.

This species is on the UK conservation red list for being at risk of extinction, so efforts are made to keep its exact location a secret.

"Taking fungi for commercial purposes is illegal but the fines are not a big enough deterrent," said CFA's chief executive Mark Pearson.

Under the Theft Act 1968, financial penalties for commercial foraging currently range from £100 - £300.

Adding that CFA "supports any moves to increase that amount", he said its team does its "best to protect and monitor, but with a vast area to cover we need help from our visitors too".

"We're asking anyone who sees any suspicious activity to contact us," he added.

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