Underground Fungal Networks Recognized as Climate Regulators, Toby Kiers Wins Tyler Prize

Underground Fungal Networks Emerge as Climate Guardians, Toby Kiers Wins Tyler Prize

Hidden beneath forests, grasslands, and farmlands lies a vast living network that quietly shapes Earth’s climate and ecosystems. These mycorrhizal fungal networks , interwoven with plant roots, function as nutrient-trading systems and collectively draw down over 13 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year . Once dismissed as minor plant helpers, they are now recognised as one of the planet’s most important natural life-support systems.

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement

American evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has been awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement , widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize for the environment.” The honour recognises her groundbreaking work in uncovering the ecological, evolutionary, and climatic importance of mycorrhizal fungi.

Kiers currently serves as a University Research Chair at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , where her research has fundamentally reshaped scientific understanding of soil ecosystems and their role in regulating the global carbon cycle.

Underground Carbon Storage and Global Mapping

Plants routinely channel excess carbon below ground, where mycorrhizal fungi store an estimated 13.12 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually —roughly one-third of global fossil fuel emissions . To understand the scale of this hidden system, Kiers co-developed a global Underground Atlas , mapping the worldwide distribution of mycorrhizal fungi.

The atlas revealed extensive reservoirs of below-ground biodiversity, many of which lie outside protected conservation areas , raising concerns that crucial climate-regulating systems remain largely unprotected by environmental policy.

The Biological Marketplace Beneath Our Feet

In a landmark 2011 study published in Science , Kiers demonstrated that mycorrhizal fungi behave like rational traders in a “biological marketplace.” Through microscopic filaments, fungi deliver nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to plants, while receiving carbon-rich sugars and fats in return.

Experiments showed that fungi actively redirect nutrients from areas of surplus to areas of scarcity to maximise carbon gains—mirroring supply-and-demand behaviour seen in human economies. This discovery overturned the long-held view of fungi as passive organisms and revealed them as strategic partners in ecosystem functioning.

Important Facts for Exams

• Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic networks with plant roots .

• These networks sequester over 13 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually .

• The Tyler Prize carries a monetary award of $250,000 .

• A large share of fungal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas .

Conservation Push and Future Implications

Recent Nature studies by Kiers’ team have introduced robotic imaging systems that track fungal growth in real time and have refined global maps of fungal species distribution. Alarmed by conservation gaps, she co-founded the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) to advocate legal and policy protection for fungi.

Her work highlights a profound insight: terrestrial life itself emerged through ancient plant–fungal partnerships . By reframing fungi as