Cripps, Cathy To Directory Cathy Cripps, Adjunct Assistant Professor, PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Currently we are focused on a survey of the biodiveristy of alpine fungi in the Rocky Mountains. This includes all land within the arctic circle, and the true alpine above treeline on high mountain tops. Fungi are a crucial ecological link in these inhospitable climes.
Plants depend on alpine mycorrhizal root fungi for survival.
Saprophytic fungi somehow manage to complete the work of decomposition and recycling of nutrients into the soil despite the extreme conditions. To date we have catalogued over 100 species of alpine agarics, primarily species of Inocybe, Cortinarius, Entoloma, Galerina, Russlula , and Lactarius. Other research has focused on the ectomycorrhizal fungi in aspen forests. Over 50 species of fungi occur with aspen in the Rocky Mountain region, and many have been found on the Anaconda Superfund site. Our research has shown that many of these mycorrhizal fungi stimulate aspen growth in vitro, however plant response depends on the particular fungal inoculant.