Dan Zhang

Against the backdrop of global food security and circular agriculture development, edible fungi, as a high-protein food source, have both ecological and economic value in their production model using agricultural and forestry wastes. Based on the “Cycle Production of Plants, Animals, and Fungi” theory, this paper systematically reviews the research progress of alternative substrates for edible fungi. First, alternative substrates are categorized into plant-derived, animal-derived, and microbial-derived types according to their sources. The physicochemical properties, application status, and bottlenecks of each type are analyzed, such as difficult lignin degradation in plant-derived substrates, pollutant risks in animal-derived substrates, and lack of unified application standards for microbial-derived substrates. Second, the mechanisms of key influencing factors including substrate nutritional content, pH and moisture content are elaborated. Furthermore, the paper points out current industrial challenges such as regional resource heterogeneity, difficult control of pretreatment parameters, pollutant residues, and poor batch stability, and summarizes targeted optimization strategies, including regional substrate formulations, precise pretreatment technologies, nutritional regulation, and circular utilization models. Finally, future directions are prospected from four aspects: localized resource utilization, technological innovation, circular model upgrading, and standardized governance, providing theoretical support for the large-scale and sustainable development of the edible fungi industry and contributing to agricultural waste resource utilization and the achievement of “dual carbon” goals.