🌅 Earth’s Fungal Network Is Mind-Blowingly Large

SOURCE

Stewart et al. (2026)

WHAT TO KNOW

• An international team of researchers mapped the worldwide distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, finding its underground network of tiny filaments—called hyphae—would span a staggering 68 quadrillion miles (110 quadrillion kilometers) if laid end to end, equivalent to around 10% of the width of the Milky Way galaxy itself and enough to stretch from the Earth to the Sun and back around 730 million times. Analyzing more than 16,000 samples collected around the world, the team found every cubic centimeter of global topsoil packs around 4.4 meters (about 15 feet) of hyphae. All told, the world’s AM fungi network weighs around 300 megatons, about 4-6x times the mass of all humans on Earth.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Around 70% of all terrestrial plant species on Earth have a symbiotic relationship with AM fungi, taking part in what the study authors describe as an underground “economy” in which fungi extract water and nutrients from soil and trade it back to plants in exchange for the carbon plants absorb from the atmosphere. Staple crops like wheat, corn, and rice all rely on symbiotic relationships with AM fungi, which can even help plants resist drought.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Along with keeping plants alive and humans fed, AM fungi are also a crucial climate protector. The researchers found AM fungal networks act as a vital underground carbon store when they die, transporting around 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into soil each year. The annual stored carbon is equivalent to around 11% of the carbon dioxide humans pump into the atmosphere each year.