The Current How fungi could save the planet
Feb 3, 2026
Toby Kiers, evolutionary biologist and mycorrhizal fungi researcher who co-founded the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, describes the vast mycelial webs that move nutrients and sequester huge amounts of carbon. Short scenes explore how these networks act like Earth’s circulatory system, how they trade resources and process information, the threats from land use, and the Underground Atlas mapping fungal hotspots.
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Fungi Form An Underground Circulatory System
- Mycorrhizal fungi form vast underground networks connecting 80–90% of plant species and build soil biodiversity.
- These networks act as an Earth-wide circulatory system moving nutrients, water, and carbon beneath ecosystems.
Fungi Sequester A Third Of Fossil CO2
- Mycorrhizal networks move roughly 13 billion tons of CO2 into soils annually, about one-third of fossil-fuel emissions.
- Toby Kiers warns we have neglected mapping and protecting these systems despite their climate role.
How A Panama Dig Sparked Her Career
- At 19 Toby Kiers quit school and moved to Barro Colorado Island in Panama to study field biology and soil.
- She dug up soil and first saw fungi penetrating roots, triggering her career studying plant–fungus symbioses.