Please contact us at forestfungiproject@plantpath.wisc.edu with any comments or questions, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Root collections should be made while the trees have green leaves, ideally in the mid to late summer.

Collections can be done in yards or in parks (see permission information below), but only if there is an un-mowed lawn. Highly-manicured areas likely harbor different and less representative fungi in and near their roots.

In most cases, only with permission. Check to see if your area of interest allows collection of live plants and/or plant parts; often this information is available on the web or you can call those who manage the area. If the area is privately owned, you will need to contact the land owner. If you have issues obtaining this information, let us know, and we will do our best to assist; just please give us plenty of advanced notice to do so.

We use this information to determine a lot about the environmental factors associated with your collection, and it helps us see where we have (and don’t yet have) samples from. You can find information about how to access GPS tools on the PARTICIPATE page, located in the menu above. If you have questions or issues, don’t hesitate to contact us!

That is ok! Given that roots of different species in a given area often grow together, we extract and sequence the DNA from the samples to determine the plant species. However, we encourage you to include your personal identification, or observations of the tree, to help with determining this overall ID.

Certainly! Occasionally you might need to dig in more than one place to find a good amount of fine roots. We just ask that you make it clear in your labeling if samples are from the same individual tree, or that you combine the samples from the same tree all into one bag.

You bet! Just keep the samples separate from each other and continue to give us the associated GPS coordinates and your best attempt at a tree identification for each.

Depending on your region, climatic conditions, and targeted tree species, soil properties can vary drastically. You’re welcome to try another tree, visit another area where you have permission to collect, wait for rain to soften the ground, etc.; or, just give it your best! We’ll still give you an A for effort.

The lab must receive soils for processing within 7-10 days of collection (including shipping time), so plan to send them out soon after collection, and ideally within 1-2 days of collection. We encourage you to contact us prior to collection so we can set up a smooth and timely plan for shipment. Additionally, samples need to be refrigerated relatively soon after collection (i.e., right when you get home) and kept so until they are shipped.

It happens! Just contact us at forestfungiproject@plantpath.wisc.edu and we’ll get things sorted; no sweat.

We aim to have the results ready by the following spring season and made available through the website. This aspect of our website is still a work in progress, and we’re doing out best to design a fun and informative way of checking out the generated data. Thank you for your patience – and stay tuned!