MycoRafts

Our MycoRafts are hexagonally shaped meter wide units that can function alone or in groups, anchored and/or connected via hollow bamboo inserts in the six corners of the raft. MycoRafts are 100% biodegradable, provide nutrients to enhance growth and eliminate the need for any plastic or wire substructure. We want to test how well MycoRafts perform as platforms for planting vegetation offsite and translocating the units to degraded mudflats. The expectation is that rafts anchored to the tidal flats will facilitate accretion of riverine and marine sediments to expedite establishment of healthy marsh vegetation eliminating the need for dredging and adding sediment. 

A small version of the MycoRafts was tested in Seattle, WA between 2013 and 2016 where 1 foot square blocks of the composite material were overlain with a coconut coir mat of mature marsh vegetation and then were floated in tanks. This fall we are testing another small raft for eelgrass bed restoration. These rafts will be perforated with small holes in which germinated eelgrass seeds will be planted. The rafts will eventually absorb water and sink to the ocean floor or they may be tethered to the bottom at the outset. The expectation is that the rafts will provide protection and nutrients to encourage the eelgrass growth. 

There are many variables at play in marine and estuarine restorations efforts such as hydrology, site elevation, slope, exposure, soil chemistry and structural properties, nutrient availability, salinity and ambient seed sources. MycoRafts can address many of these. MycoRafts will provide elevation flexibility as they can be tethered to float vegetation with the incoming and outgoing tides. They can also be anchored to remain at a certain depth. Slope can be adjusted using one central point of attachment or the six corner points at different heights for anchoring the rafts to the bottom. The raft will protect young plants from the disruptive power of wave action until the plants are able to buffer the wave energy. The raft matrix will allow for easy penetration by and protection of plant roots and rhizomes as they grow through the raft to the muddy bottom. Our composite material has been shown to slowly release nitrate and phosphorus, two essential nutrients made available for plant uptake and enhanced growth rates. We have not yet tested the material for its salinity buffering capacity and would be interested in these data. As the raft slowly decomposes over the course of 5-6 months allowing vegetation to take hold on its own, it may also serve to capture new viable propagules.

Project Objective

We seek several sites where saltmarsh or eelgrass restoration is already underway. We would like to provide an alternative method for planting vegetation to study the benefits of using the mycelium based composite material. We welcome collaborators that would like to test our restoration rafts in 2025.