"Scientists created a global map of Earth's fungal networks, revealing the 68 quadrillion mile structure that regulates the climate.
….and faces severe threats from modern farming.
A groundbreaking study published in the journal Science has mapped the Earth's hidden subterranean circulatory system for the first time, revealing an underground fungal network of staggering proportions.
Led by the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), researchers used machine-learning models to analyze data from over 16,000 global soil cores. The results show that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi stretch a mind-boggling 110 quadrillion kilometers beneath our feet—equivalent to nearly a billion times the distance from the Earth to the sun.
These micro-thin webs of tubular cells, which can measure up to 10 meters in a single teaspoon of soil, form vital symbiotic relationships with over 70% of land plants, exchanging critical nutrients and water for plant-derived carbon and locking massive amounts of CO2 into the soil.
However, this vital underground infrastructure is facing a quiet crisis due to modern industrial agriculture. The research reveals that cropland fungal density is nearly 50% lower than in wild, undisturbed ecosystems, driven by aggressive farming practices like tilling, chemical fertilizers, and fungicides.
This massive loss diminishes the soil's capacity to store carbon, weakens natural nutrient distribution, and accelerates chemical runoff into surrounding waterways. Seeking to turn the tide, scientists plan to present these findings to global governments at the UN desertification summit in Mongolia to establish official conservation benchmarks, urging policymakers to recognize that saving our climate requires protecting the life beneath our boots."
SOURCE: Stewart, J. D., Bisot, C., Cargill, R. I. M., Van Nuland, M. E., Hawkins, H. J., Oyarte Galvez, L., ... & Kiers, E. T. (2026).
Global density and biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks. Science
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