Underground Explorers

The Chota-Nagpur ecoregion, a part of the Deccan Peninsula Biogeographical Zone in the Indo-Malayan realm, spans 122,419 km² and comprises a tapestry of landscapes—from lateritic plateaus and rugged ravines to dramatic cliffs, deep alluvial plains, gorges, and monadnocks. The ecoregion, characterized by a tropical monsoon climate with distinct dry and wet seasons, is home to Asia's largest Sal (Shorea robusta) dry deciduous forests. Yet, despite its ecological richness, the fungal biodiversity of this ecoregion remains largely unexplored, presenting a unique opportunity to explore its diverse soil fungal communities. Mycorrhizal fungi, in particular, are invaluable bioindicators of forest health, but despite their ubiquity and importance, they often remain unseen, neglected, and not studied. Regrettably, forest fires, climate change, and extractive industry activities are causing fungi to become extinct at an accelerated rate. Therefore, a dedicated green restoration and conservation study is urgently needed. This soil mycobiome consortium study can effectively map and identify new species while providing insights into the hidden ecological dynamics, allowing us to harness them as a climate solution before they go extinct. Protecting these tiny, invisible underground fungi not only safeguards the forest land from extractive industries but also enhances the broader environmental context.