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The World’s Largest Fungus Collection May Unlock the Mysteries of Carbon Capture
Research is uncovering the key role that fungi play in getting soils to absorb carbon, and how humanity’s actions aboveground are wreaking havoc in the mysterious fungal world below.
“What this allows us to do is to come up with a reference of fungal biodiversity —what fungi are out there in the world, where you can find them.” Archivists—wearing mushroom hats for some reason—float between the shelves, busily digitizing the vast archive, which includes around half of all the species known to science. In 2020, mycologist Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures was a surprise bestseller. One replanting study found that a forest of birch and pine trees planted onto heath moorland in northern Scotland did not increase soil carbon stocks even after nearly 40 years in the ground.
Or read this on Wired
