Underground fungi may be one of Earth’s most powerful—and most overlooked—allies in the fight against climate change. Yet astonishingly, the vast majority of these microscopic organisms remain completely unknown to science.
Beneath our feet lies a hidden world of fungal networks that support life on Earth in ways we are only beginning to understand. Among them are ectomycorrhizal fungi—a group that forms intimate partnerships with trees, helping forests absorb nutrients, resist disease, and, critically, store carbon in the soil. These fungi act like brokers in a vast underground economy, trading nutrients and water for sugars from trees, while capturing and locking away carbon that might otherwise warm the atmosphere.
But here’s the staggering truth: 83% of these carbon-storing fungi have never been formally described. They are known only through environmental DNA—recovered from soil samples but never linked to a named species or visible organism. Scientists call them “dark taxa”—organisms that exist in genetic databases but remain unnamed, unclassified, and effectively invisible to the world of conservation policy.
Many of these fungal hotspots are found in tropical forests, mountainous regions, and other biodiversity-rich areas that often receive little research funding or global attention. Without formal identification, these fungi are excluded from conservation lists, ignored in reforestation programs, and vulnerable to habitat destruction through logging, mining, and climate change.
The implications are serious. We are losing not just species, but key allies in stabilizing Earth’s climate. If these fungi vanish, so too might the forests they support—along with the carbon those forests store.
Recognizing this invisible crisis, scientists are calling for a global effort to uncover, sequence, and catalog fungal biodiversity. DNA sequencing, open-access databases, and international collaboration could help bring these underground organisms into the scientific spotlight. Naming a species is not just an academic exercise—it’s the first step toward protecting it. In the fight against climate change, nature’s most effective solutions may not lie in the sky or sea, but underground. The fungal frontier is vast, vital, and largely unexplored. And if we act now, we may still have time to map this hidden kingdom—before it’s too late.
Hidden beneath forests, grasslands, and even deserts, mycorrhizal fungi create one of nature’s most essential—and least visible—alliances. These fungi form intimate partnerships with plant roots, connecting trees, grasses, and crops to a shared underground web known as the mycorrhizal network, sometimes called the “Wood Wide Web.” Through this symbiotic relationship, plants supply the fungi with sugars produced during photosynthesis, and in return, the fungi deliver vital nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and water—resources that plants might otherwise struggle to absorb.
But their role goes far beyond feeding roots. Mycorrhizal fungi are also key players in regulating Earth’s climate. As they grow and spread through soil, these fungi help lock carbon underground by transporting organic compounds from plant roots into deep soil layers where the carbon can remain stored for decades or even centuries. Some types of mycorrhizal fungi also contribute to the formation of stable soil structures, reducing erosion and promoting moisture retention—critical in the face of global warming and changing weather patterns.
Their underground networks connect not just individual plants but entire ecosystems, allowing for the transfer of signals, resources, and resilience. For example, in forests, older trees can send nutrients through fungal threads to support younger or stressed neighbors. In this way, mycorrhizal fungi don’t just support life—they coordinate it.
Yet despite their enormous importance, these fungi are still poorly understood and largely ignored in conservation efforts. As forests are cleared, soils are tilled, and ecosystems are disturbed, many of these underground networks are damaged or destroyed—weakening nature’s ability to store carbon and support biodiversity.
Protecting and restoring mycorrhizal fungi isn’t just good for plants—it’s essential for a stable climate and a thriving planet. By preserving the underground, we protect the life above.
