Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are foundational to terrestrial ecosystem health and directly support multiple targets of SDG 15
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summary
Take-home:
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are foundational to terrestrial ecosystem health and directly support multiple targets of SDG 15, yet their global biogeography remains largely unknown. By revealing that over 70% of Earth’s ecoregions lack AM fungal soil data, this study shows that filling belowground biodiversity gaps is essential for effective conservation and land-restoration strategies.
Summary:
This article argues that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi—key soil symbionts supporting most terrestrial plants—are essential to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land), yet remain largely overlooked in biodiversity science and conservation policy. AM fungi enhance plant nutrient uptake, soil stability, carbon cycling, and ecosystem resilience, linking them directly to targets on ecosystem conservation, forest restoration, combating desertification, and halting biodiversity loss.
Using the largest global database of AM fungal soil eDNA, the authors show that over 70% of the world’s terrestrial ecoregions have never been sampled with AM-fungi–specific methods. Sampling is heavily biased toward temperate and Mediterranean forests, while drylands, grasslands, deserts, mangroves, tundra, and urban ecosystems—many of which are critical for SDG 15—are severely underrepresented. These data gaps limit our ability to map AM fungal biodiversity, model their distributions, and assess their vulnerability to land-use change and climate stress.
The paper highlights methodological and institutional barriers to progress, including difficulties in culturing AM fungi, biases in DNA primers, limited taxonomic expertise, and the exclusion of microbes from major conservation frameworks such as the IUCN Red List. As a result, most AM fungal diversity hotspots fall outside protected areas and remain invisible in policy decisions.
The authors conclude that strategic, globally coordinated sampling, improved molecular tools, inclusion of non-English datasets, and equitable international collaboration are urgently needed. Filling these gaps is critical for integrating belowground biodiversity into conservation planning and ensuring that AM fungi—and the ecosystem functions they support—are fully recognized in efforts to protect life on land.
