Researchers map global underground fungal network
An international research team compiled 322 studies and 16,000 soil samples and used machine learning and high-resolution imaging to produce the first global map of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks. They estimate a total network length near 110 quadrillion kilometers and about 300 megatons of fungal carbon, equal to four to six times the mass of all living humans. The study finds these networks transport roughly 4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into soils annually, about 11 percent of human-caused emissions, and warns lower fungal density in agricultural soils may reduce carbon storage and nutrient recycling.
The global mycorrhizal network spans about 110 quadrillion kilometers.
Context
Scientists earlier mapped fungal diversity but not global network density. This new study combined many samples and tools to map network extent. Researchers may next assess how network loss affects soil carbon and nutrients.
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