Achieving net-zero emissions by the mid-century is a must if the rise in global temperatures is to be kept within 1.5°C. But an equally important part of the fight against climate change will entail adopting methods to capture, sequester and store the excess carbon in the atmosphere, thereby bringing it down pre-industrial levels.

But while we look to science to come up with scalable solutions to capture and store carbon in the soil, we are wiping out the one universal ally that is already doing that for us naturally. Fungi, located within our soils, contribute to the sequestration of carbon across the world.

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What are fungi?

Fungi form an entire kingdom of organisms in our planet and include diverse species ranging from common mushrooms to yeast and more. Fungi usually exist beneath the soil in long, branching, fusing networks of tubular cells that are called mycelium. Fungi mycelium exists around 10 cm under the top layer of the soil, and it is estimated that they account for between a third and a half of the living mass of soil around the world.

How fungi help with climate change?

During photosynthesis, plants capture carbon dioxide and use it to produce glucose. Within the process, the glucose is then used up and converted into plant biomass. This carbon is then ‘sequestered’ within the soil and within the plant biomass. Plant life across the Earth already absorbs nearly 33 percent of all carbon that is being emitted. But plants are not working alone in this process.

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Through the actions of mycorrhizal fungi -- fungi that live on top of plant and tree roots within the soil -- plants are able to process and store carbon even faster. They also protect the plant from diseases and help with its nutrition, in a symbiotic relationship. Mycorrhizal networks also increase soil moisture content, hold onto essential nutrients in the soil despite the presence of rain. They make plants hardier against seasonal drought and more resistant to changes in salinity and the presence of heavy metals in the soil.

It is for that reason that underground ecosystems account for 75 percent of the entire store of terrestrial carbon. But fungi are increasingly under threat.

Why fungi are at risk?

As mycorrhizal fungi remain within the soil, the twin scourges of soil degradation and forest destruction are not only eliminating this vital ally in the fight against climate change but also accelerating the return of the stored carbon back into the atmosphere.

Intensive farming practices, like ploughing and application of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides, excessive logging, nitrogen pollution, wastewater spillage and other pollutants are severely harming the diversity and presence of mycorrhizal fungi found across all continents.

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Fungi networks are essential to maintaining sustainable agricultural systems, natural ecosystems and keeping carbon emissions in check.

Despite this, most governments have not come up with sufficient legislation to protect this important part of the biosphere. But as the fight for climate change starts to dominate the cultural zeitgeist of the world, more and more activists are highlighting the importance of these important organisms to farmers, agricultural workers, loggers, and political leaders.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)