More than a third of the world’s current greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels go through underground networks of fungi, according to a new peer-reviewed study in Current Biology.

That’s a whopping 13 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.

Mycorrhizal fungi act as a symbiotic partner of plants, seeking out nutrients and bringing them back to the plants’ roots. In return, they accept carbon in the form of carbohydrates—which they then lock away in the structure of the fungi. This symbiotic relationship is nothing new to scientists; what’s surprising is the magnitude of carbon stored.

But how permanent is this sink? And what can we do to support fungi as a nature-based climate solution?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Heidi-Jayne Hawkins, lead author of the new paper and research director at Conservation South Africa. 

They cover topics like:

• The evolutionary history of mycorrhizal fungi 
• The mechanics of fungal carbon storage, which boosts carbon storage by 5-20% more than plants alone
• What we can do to support conditions for fungi to absorb carbon
• Open questions about the permanence of the storage

Recommended Resources:

• Current Biology: Mycorrhizal mycelium as a global carbon pool

Catalyst is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

Support for Catalyst comes from Climate Positive, a podcast by HASI, that features candid conversations with the leaders, innovators, and changemakers who are at the forefront of the transition to a sustainable economy. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Catalyst is supported by Scale Microgrids, the distributed energy company dedicated to transforming the way modern energy infrastructure is designed, constructed, and financed. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes it easy. Learn more: scalemicrogrids.com.