In 1999, Giuliana Furci, founder and founding director of the Fungi (真菌) Foundation, developed a deep interest in fungi. They were everywhere, and the 20-year-old took particular joy in the variety of mushrooms: small and button-shaped; tall and umbrella-like; round with red caps topped with white flakes. Some were commonly found in people’s diets, for they were rich in nutrients such as vitamin, fiber, minerals and protein.

But Furci also quickly realized that these fungi went largely ignored in Chile, where there were few guidebooks and an almost total lack of policies and resources to protect them from over-harvesting and other human activities. Determined to correct this, Furci wrote a field guide and set up the Fungi Foundation—a nonprofit dedicated to fungi conservation. In her guide, special attention went to the role of fungi in the ecosystem.

“Life on the planet wouldn’t exist without fungi,” said Greg Mueller, a mushroom conservation expert. “Because of their relationship with forests and trees, we can’t survive without fungi. In terms of the health of the planet, they’re incredibly important to humans and the overall ecosystem.” Fungi can break down plants and animals, thus cycling nutrients and increasing their availability in the soil. They are also important contributors to the soil carbon stock through the same process. What’s more, fungi have been found to help degrade (降解) various pollutants, such as plastic. And mycelium (菌丝体), which is the root structure of mushrooms, is now being used to replace unsustainable materials, such as plastic and animal-based products.

Because of these, exploration of fungi was expanded at a faster pace. However, some were already listed as critically endangered. In 2010, Furci took an even bigger step—with other environmental nonprofits, she put forward a proposal for the government to systematically assess how large new developments such as housing, dams, and highways affect fungi. In 2012, a law was passed and Chile became the first country in the world to protect fungi by law.

It's a place like no other in the world. At the center of the Antarctic continent, the South Pole is a desert of snow. Although the conditions may be harsh and unwelcoming, the daily life of someone at the South Pole Station is exciting and interesting. During construction, we sent over 100 people to the station each year. 【小题1】

Before you are allowed to go to the South Pole, you have to go through a physical examination to make sure you are healthy enough to travel and handle the conditions. Getting to the South Pole as a member of the IceCube Project requires a lot of time in the air. 【小题2】 Everyone headed to Antarctic is offered special clothing to protect against the cold, including parkas, mittens, boots, and more.

The South Pole Station houses approximately 200 people. 【小题3】 It also has a gym, a greenhouse, and more.

【小题4】 The hose(软管) is driven into an ice cave to melt the ice. The melted water is then siphoned(用虹吸管) out for drinking and other uses. When the melted area becomes too low for the hose to reach, the hose will be moved to create a new hole.

【小题5】 People form clubs, start bands, attend classes and events that reflect their interests-from learning about the other projects going on at the station to learning Scottish dancing! In fact, it often seems like there's too much to do and too little time.

Working at the South Pole changes your perspective on the world. It is extremely beautiful.

This morning we're going to head off down into the wetland, into a very specific kind of wetland called the Prairie fen.

You can find Nate Fuller counting butterflies. The Sarett Nature Center needs an accurate count of Mitchell's satyr butterflies to help preserve one of their last known habitats. They're very particular about the kind of habitat where they can live, which is part of what makes them so rare and amazing indicators for our water quality. Today, Sarett expert Ashley Cole-Wick with Michigan's Natural Features Inventory helps Fuller count. She says "When I first started working on the butterfly in 2013, we had 18 populations and this year in 2019, we have 10."

The Mitchell Seder went on the endangered species list in 1991. Initially it was thought that loss of wetlands contributed to their decline. Fuller says "It's not just habitat availability. Its groundwater and the amount in the quality of groundwater coming into these wetlands seem to be a challenge for the butterfly. Nothing has all been sorted out exactly. ” While the decline is likely a combination of factors. the fact that water quality might contribute is alarming because the wetlands are the headwaters for the Midwest's rivers and streams.

A captive breeding （人工繁殖）program was started four years ago at the Toledo Zoo to help get to the bottom of the mystery. Today Director Ryan Walsh who heads the program says it's been, the only successful captive program. The caterpillars （毛毛虫）spend the winter in a special weather control room that help determine the Mitchell satyrs don't do well below 4. 4 degrees Celsius, a temperature that prevents the Fen wetlands from the hard freezes which kill the insects. With that knowledge, the program produced 1300 new eggs this summer, a development that may go a long way toward restoring the population. And if all goes well, may one day the Mitchell satyr butterfly earn a ticket off Endangered Species List.