HIDDEN FUNGI ABSORB OVER A THIRD OF EARTH'S FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS

A new study pinpoints a major carbon pool in the filament networks of mycorrhizal fungi found underneath mushrooms

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Powerful fungal networks hidden underground are storing some of humanity's carbon emissions, and could help us lock away even more if we protect them, according to a new study.

Researchers from the UK, South Africa and the Netherlands have revealed that plants absorb an estimated 13 billion. tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) from the atmosphere annually and deposit them in mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. The amount of carbon being allocated to these networks is equivalent to 36 per cent of annual global fossil fuel emissions.