Map of the world’s underground wildlife for the first time

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Autumn leaves fall in a forest in Vertaux, near Nantes, France, October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Stefan Mahe

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Scientists on Tuesday unveiled plans to map the world’s vast underground networks of fungi for the first time, to identify hotspots that could better protect natural ecosystems and store carbon dioxide to help tackle climate change.

Underground fungal networks support the health of plants, trees, and broader ecosystems by creating thread-like networks in the soil that absorb carbon dioxide and transfer nutrients such as phosphorous to plants.

The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks said Thursday that it will collect 10,000 samples over the next 18 months from around the world, using machine learning to search for the most biodiverse hotspots and map global fungal networks.

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“When something as obvious as corals dies, people notice – but these guys are really invisible ecosystem architects, so their losses are largely undocumented,” SPUN co-founder Toby Keres, a professor at VU University Amsterdam, told Reuters. . “That’s really where we’re trying to intervene.”

Networks of fungi, which store billions of tons of carbon dioxide, are under threat from factors including fertilizer use in agriculture, urbanization and climate change, according to SPUN, a nonprofit network whose membership includes scientists from the United States, Germany and Britain.

The world’s first map will be used to identify sites that have the potential to store more carbon dioxide, and to withstand changes caused by global warming.

SPUN said it will also identify areas at risk and work to improve conservation of underground biodiversity hotspots.

The project is supported by a $3.5 million donation from the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Fund.

Jeremy Grantham said that fungal networks are an “invaluable ally” in the fight against climate change. “However, these carbon sinks are not well understood.”

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(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Maren Strauss and Ed Osmond)

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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