Story perspectives

US Map Shows Fungi Store 300 Mt Carbon, 11% Emissions

6/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

US scientists published a map of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks in Science on June 11, 2026, using machine-learning and 16,669 soil cores from 322 studies.
The map estimates hyphal length at 110 quadrillion kilometers, storing about 300 megatons of carbon and moving 4 billion metric tons into soil each year—roughly 11 % of human CO2 emissions.
Grasslands hold about 40 % of fungal biomass, whereas croplands have 47-50 % lower hyphal density due to tillage, synthetic fertilizers and fungicides.

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Story summary

US scientists published a map of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks in Science on June 11, 2026, using machine-learning and 16,669 soil cores from 322 studies.
The map estimates hyphal length at 110 quadrillion kilometers, storing about 300 megatons of carbon and moving 4 billion metric tons into soil each year—roughly 11 % of human CO2 emissions.
Grasslands hold about 40 % of fungal biomass, whereas croplands have 47-50 % lower hyphal density due to tillage, synthetic fertilizers and fungicides.