Protect the
underground
Video by R. Cargill & L. Oyarte Galvez (VU, AMOLF)
Fungi support much of life on earth. SPUN is a scientific research organization founded to map mycorrhizal fungal communities and advocate for their protection.
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Through our Underground Explorers Program, we collaborate with researchers and local communities to map mycorrhizal fungal networks.
Featured expedition
Together with researchers from National University of Lesotho, SPUN is sampling mycorrhizal communities of high-altitude wetlands that store extraordinary amounts of carbon. Surveys of these wetlands are becoming urgent as these unique southern African ecosystems are facing rapid warming and increased droughts.

mapping MYCORRHIZAL networks
Together with GlobalFungi, Global Soil Mycobiome Consortium, the Crowther Lab, and researchers, SPUN is building a global database of mycorrhizal diversity. This will allow us to quantify biodiversity hot-spots and identify underground ecosystems of high conservation priority.