Major lawn problems!

Hi all, I’m a newbie with a problem. Our large lawn has always had problems with moss but this year it’s got a lot worse with large brown grassless patches occupied by dead moss. Added to the mix is a major invasion of fungi. A gardener friend suggested that the fungi is linked to roots from the large elderly Bramley apple trees. The soil is clay and there are shaded areas owing to large trees. Should I scarify? How do I prevent moss and fungi? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

I'm not a great lawn fan, but to get rid of moss you need to improve light, air flow and drainage.
The fungi if they worry you use a brush to get rid of the fruiting bodies, even if you remove the trees the fungi will still be living on the old roots and continue to fruit. The good news is they don't last long each year and are generally late summer and autumn.

 

A bit strange as I usually find grass grows thicker and greener where you see toadstools.

Is the dead thatch in picture 2 white or is it my eyes.

 

@pete would completely agree with you if the were the "Fairy ring" style of fungus.
However if they are largish shallow roots the soil could be would be dry so no grass would grow well there in a normal year let alone this year.

 

I find if you let the the grass grow to two three inches the thatch just disappears from view.

 

Cutting grass too short is certainly a way to encourage moss, but shady sites always tend to have more. It does look very dry @Philip Kirkland - so keeping the grass longer will help with that.
Fungi are just a normal part of the soil, and are harmless [as well as very useful] unless it's honey fungus or something similar.
Clay can be a problem with drainage, but our grass stays green as we have no shortage of rain, so we have the opposite problem in that it can be soggy a lot of the time, but if you're in one of the many drier area in the UK, allowing it to be a bit longer will help. I still don't cut mine too short, but many people in this area scalp grass because they're so used to the rain coming along and greening it all up. That's certainly changing, and I've seen a lot of very sad looking 'lawns' this year.
The trees will also mean that the soil tends to stay drier anyway, and the clay will crack, so you may just have to accept it, especially with the increasingly drier climate. You can scarify to remove the moss, and then add some soil/seed, but the conditions would have to be suitable for that- ie temps etc. It might be possible at this time of year for you, but may need left until spring.
It also depends on how fussy you are about it, and how you use the area. I'm like @NigelJ - I'm not too fussy about it, and as long as the edges are neat, and it's green, it's fine.

 

Well I feel royally treated by the responses. I’m reassured that just clearing up the fungi is sufficient and will set the mower higher for the last few cuts of the year then look at scarification and seeding in the spring. I know, via our local plant nursery, that we’ve had less than half the normal rain during July and August which will doubtless have increased the problem (in Severn Trent we don’t have a hosepipe ban but I don’t use our precious water..). The garden is on a slope and it’s the higher section which has suffered most. The lower part is still nice and green.

 

What your grass lacks is the stimulation of grazing livestock foot/hoof prints to force the thatch layer into the soil.Therefore you may need to rake it off but will need to repay by introducing humus in some way. Refer to the carbon cycle.
Fungal activity is fundamental to plantlife; its entirely natural and should be encouraged within all soils. Often they are the first organisms to reappear from dormancy when other components are restored.
Mosses are symptomatic to lawn problems; they are natures' response to a bare patch if conditions would not support a broadleaf plant (weed).