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Fungi: the invisible force protecting our planet

Fungi: the invisible force protecting our planet

Science Weekly vor 2 Monaten

Ian Sample hears from professor of evolutionary biology Dr Toby Kiers about how fungi could be the key to our planet’s survival

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Scientists often talk about the importance of flora and fauna to
the health of our planet, but Dr Toby Kiers, an evolutionary
biologist and founder of the Society for the Protection of
Underground Networks, wants us to consider another force: fungi.
Her work charting the planet’s vital underground systems has earned
her numerous awards, including a MacArthur fellowship and a Tyler
Prize for Environmental Achievement (sometimes called the ‘green’
Nobel). She tells Ian Sample about her work mapping fungal networks
on the remote Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, and what the
research reveals about fungi’s often invisible role. Help support
our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod