Mycorrhizal fungi form a vast underground network that supplies plants with water and nutrients in exchange for sugars. This symbiotic relationship, which began 450 million years ago, was essential ... EurekAlert!: Plants allocate enough carbon to underground mycorrhizal fungi equivalent to roughly one-third of carbon emitted yearly by fossil fuels Mycorrhizal fungi have been supporting life on land for at least 450 million years by helping to supply plants with soil nutrients essential for growth.

Understanding the Context

In recent years, scientists have found that in ... Plants allocate enough carbon to underground mycorrhizal fungi equivalent to roughly one-third of carbon emitted yearly by fossil fuels Just beneath your feet, an ancient and silent alliance endures. This alliance between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is one of the oldest biological partnerships on Earth. Going back ...

Key Insights

The Underground Atlas, a new model of the worldwide distribution of mycorrhizal, or network-forming, fungi, shows that the fungi in these and other places need protection. Created by researchers at ... On the shelves in your local garden supply store, you may have noticed products labeled “mycorrhizal fungi” and wondered what their purpose is and whether they would benefit your garden. They have ... Some stringy fungi are tough negotiators, trading nutrients shrewdly with plants.

Final Thoughts

An advance in tracking the nutrient phosphorus has revealed new details of ancient trading networks between fungi and ... The Conversation: If plants can pick fungi to help fight pests and diseases, it opens a door to greener farming and ecosystem recovery If plants can pick fungi to help fight pests and diseases, it opens a door to greener farming and ecosystem recovery