Now, they ask the question: How much fungal infrastructure exists, and where?<\/p>\n
A new study published in Science<\/a> by researchers with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) and collaborators produced the first global maps of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal network density and biomass. <\/p>\n \u201cThere could be up to 10 meters (32 feet) of mycorrhizal network in just a teaspoon of soil,\u201d lead author Justin Stewart of SPUN said in a press statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nearly all land plants live in partnership with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi exchange water and nutrients for carbon made from sunlight. These underground networks act as a living circulatory system for the planet, and the new study found they move an estimated 4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent into soils annually, roughly 11% of global human-related emissions.<\/p>\n To build the density maps, the team drew on data from more than 16,000 soil cores collected across nine biomes referenced in 322 published studies. They developed machine-learning models to predict network density in unsampled regions, then calibrated those predictions using robotic imaging of more than 300,000 individual living hyphae (the tubular cells that make up fungal networks) grown under laboratory conditions at the Amsterdam research institute AMOLF.<\/p>\n The researchers visualized their results in a new interactive tool called the Mycorrhizal Infrastructure Map<\/a> with estimates calculated for every square kilometer of terrestrial land. The maps reveal striking geographic variation.<\/p>\n Grassland ecosystems harbor an estimated 40% of all AM fungal biomass on Earth, with especially dense networks in South Sudan\u2019s flooded grasslands, Florida\u2019s Everglades in the U.S., and the Tibetan Plateau in Asia.<\/p>\n Croplands had roughly half the fungal network density of wild ecosystems. While researchers say more work is needed to link specific farming practices to fungal health, less dense networks may diminish soils\u2019 ability to store carbon and cycle nutrients.<\/p>\n Previous research<\/a> found that 90% of AM fungal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas. The new data suggest the physical infrastructure of those networks is similarly exposed.<\/p>\n \u201cFungi have been ignored in climate and conservation for too long,\u201d study co-author Toby Kiers, SPUN\u2019s executive director, said. \u201cNow is the time to change that trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0Banner image: A screenshot from the Mycorrhizal Infrastructure Map<\/a>. <\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b72b2fe6ce4ce3fa6c825b464f1b9051ba9263a8903e333e48b628a07894ff52.png\")
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