One billion times the distance from the Earth to the sun: First global map of mycorrhizal fungi reveals true scale of underground networks across the planet

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Justin Stewart - SPUN

Mycorrhizal fungi form underground networks that sustain plant life and help regulate Earth’s climate by drawing carbon into soils. In a study published today in Science, an international team of researchers produced the first global maps estimating the distribution and mass of the Earth’s arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks. Published alongside an interactive visualization that helps reveal the scale of this underground fungal infrastructure, the research will help scientists and decision makers understand where these vital fungal systems are thriving and where they are threatened.

Researchers found:

Global topsoils contain ~110 quadrillion kilometers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal network – made up of tubular cells known as hyphae. This distance is almost a billion times the distance from the Earth to the sun.