From the sun-scorched deserts of the American Southwest to the melting tundra of Alaska, SPUN scientists are uncovering how mycorrhizal fungi help ecosystems survive in the face of climate change. This newsletter follows fieldwork in Peru’s cloud forests, Brazil’s deforested Amazon fringe, and Morocco’s argan groves, spotlighting the fungi that underlie the Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. Plus, read SPUN in the headlines as underground biodiversity takes center stage in climate and conservation news.
Field notes
American Southwest deserts
Stretching across the American Southwest, the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts are among the world’s youngest and, surprisingly, greenest desert ecosystems. SPUN scientists Justin Stewart and Jinsu Elhance recently ventured into these arid landscapes to investigate the hidden networks of mycorrhizal fungi that support resilient desert flora, including the iconic giant Saguaro cactus. By sampling fungi across several national parks and monuments, the team is uncovering how these underground symbionts help desert plants survive as climate change drives temperatures to new extremes.
Manu National Park, Peru
Manu National Park in Peru is estimated to have among the highest terrestrial biodiversity of any protected area on Earth. Underground Explorer Walter Huaraca led Giuliana Furci (Fungi Foundation), Cosmo Sheldrake, Toby Kiers, and Merlin Sheldrake to sample deep soil mycorrhizal communities in high altitude grasslands, reaching nearly 4000 meters elevation. This work is part of a project spanning North and South America aimed at collecting fungal DNA sequences to understand how deep soil fungi help regulate Earth’s carbon cycle. The team is developing new protocols to sample soil fungi below a meter in depth.
Next stops: Upcoming expeditions
In June, we are heading to Alaska’s arctic tundra to sample mycorrhizal fungi in ecosystems that are rapidly melting due to climate change. We will be sampling near Deadhorse, Alaska, right up against the Beaufort Sea to understand how mycorrhizal communities are changing in melting tundra ecosystems.
New research
Over the next six weeks we will be publishing groundbreaking research and sharing the first version of our biodiversity maps with the public. Keep your eyes on our channels and website to be one of the first to see what we have been working on.
Underground Explorers highlights
Camila Nobre
In Brazil’s Maranhão State, where the Amazon rainforest blends into vast savannah, forests face mounting pressure from cattle ranching and illegal logging. Maranhão is facing the most rapid deforestation in Brazil. In 2023, over 300,000 hectares were devastated, representing a 95.1% increase in loss of native vegetation compared to the previous year.
To understand how these disturbances impact life below ground, Underground Explorer Camila Nobre is sampling soil across a deforestation gradient. By analyzing shifts in mycorrhizal fungal communities, Dr. Nobre aims to reveal how human activity alters underground biodiversity — and how future restoration efforts might harness these vital fungi to help degraded landscapes recover.
Grace Gachara
Argan oil — often dubbed “Moroccan gold” — has been used for thousands of years by Indigenous North Africans for its medicinal properties and is prized in beauty rituals worldwide for its rich blend of antioxidants, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids.
The argan tree (Sideroxylon spinosum) grows nowhere else on Earth but southwestern Morocco. These deep-rooted, drought-resistant trees live up to 200 years and act as critical buffers against desertification and erosion. But pressures from overharvesting, grazing goats, climate change, and soil degradation are threatening their survival — and the women’s argan harvesting cooperatives that rely on them.
Underground Explorer Grace Gachara is working with these women’s cooperatives in Morocco to learn how mycorrhizal fungi support argan trees, and in turn the ecological and economic systems built upon them.
SPUN in the news
Science Friday - “Scientists Observe Fungi Creating Complex Supply Chains”
Our Chief Scientist Dr. Toby Kiers speaks to Flora Lichtman to address a big question: How do complex networks make decisions in the absence of brains? The two discuss the supply chain theories laid out in the Nature paper “A traveling-wave strategy for plant-fungal trade.”
JSTOR Daily - “The Fungi in the Carbon Jigsaw”
Are mycorrhizal fungi the missing in link in our understanding of the carbon cycle? Lead Data Scientist Michael Van Nuland speaks to the incredibly important role that belowground fungi play in pulling — and keeping — carbon underground.
Quirks & Quarks - “The Underground Economy: Fungi and Plants Trade Have a Network Under Our Feet”
In this radio interview, our Chief Scientist Toby Kiers speaks about the invisible carbon market below our feet, and how she and her colleagues at VU and AMOLF built an imaging robot to help us visualize these trade patterns.
bioGraphic - “The Netherlands’ Surprising Bus Stop Bounty”
Do mycorrhizal fungi flourish on green roofed bus stops? Data scientist Justin Stewart explains the encouraging fungal biodiversity found on Utrecht’s bus stops, and thinks about how we could prioritize fungi in their planning.
Texas Monthly - “Wildflowers Survive Drought Conditions Thanks to the Fungus Among Us”
Spring in Texas is synonymous with wildflowers. But these blooms, including the famous Texas bluebonnets, are threatened by climate change and invasive species. Underground Explorers Elena Leander and Candice Lumibao speak about their research in Texas and how mycorrhizal fungi help Texan ecosystems thrive.
Stay on top of SPUN in the news by checking the press page on our website.
Field work
Are you interested in participating in fungal research? Many researchers are currently running projects in diverse fields of environmental mycology. Check them out on our Associates Page.
If you’re a mycorrhizal researcher who is interested in becoming a SPUN Associate you can fill out this form to apply.
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