Earth's underground fungal network is so massive, it would span 10% of the Milky Way, map reveals
Researchers combined data from more than 300 studies to estimate the fungi’s global biomass and map where croplands hold about 50% lower densities.
- On Thursday, June 11, 2026, researchers published a study in the journal Science revealing the first global map of underground arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks stretching 110 quadrillion kilometers through Earth's topsoil.
- These symbiotic fungi are critical for planetary health, shuttling around 4 billion metric tons of carbon annually—equal to 11% of human emissions—while supporting trade relationships with roughly 70% of plant species.
- While wild grasslands—including the Florida Everglades—contain around 40% of global fungal biomass, cultivated croplands show roughly 50% lower densities, likely due to fertilizers, fungicides, and tilling practices.
- Evolutionary ecologist Justin Stewart and colleagues argue these maps are 'urgently needed' to inform biodiversity conservation and agricultural management, helping policymakers identify where fungi thrive and require protection.
- Researchers created supplemental 'maps of ignorance' to guide future efforts, with plans to update the database within five years to address challenges from food security to climate change.
16 Articles
16 Articles
A research team estimates for the first time the extent of a world-wide network of fungus threads. Its weight exceeds that of all people in the world by far. In just one teaspoon of earth, several meters of this life web are hidden.
A research team published on Thursday 11 June in the journal "Science" the first world map of mycorrhizal fungi networks. These living beings interacting with plants have considerable advantages in dealing with ongoing ecological disasters.
Of course, it is inevitable to remember the film 'Avatar' and think of the majestic bioluminescent planetary network that connected all the creatures in Pandora. And here, on our own planet, there is also a hidden 'arrangement' that encompasses everything, one that also transfers vital information, nutrients and energy. And it does so, in addition, on a scale that so far we could hardly intuit.Now, an international team of researchers has manage…
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