By Helen.
The environment correspondent.
The image is from the same source.
The image caption is.
A mesh of underground fungi is important for energy and recycling.
One of the final frontiers of undiscovered knowledge is the soil's fungal networks.
The underground network of connections formed by the Fungi help to recycle and lock up CO2 in the soil.
The role of the giant mesh of fungi in fighting climate change is not known.
It is part of the Wood Wide Web.
The underground network of plant roots and fungi allows trees to share resources.
Scientists say that "underground" is a term that has been overlooked.
The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks is leading the initiative to map and preserve the Earth's underground networks.
Toby Kiers, professor of evolutionary biology at VU University in Amsterdam, said that it was the start of an underground climate movement to protect the ancient life support system.
Over the next 18 months, local experts will collect 10,000 samples to create a map of the world's fungal hotspots.
Machine learning will be used to build up a picture of the function of fungal networks and their role as carbon sinks, something that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases.
The image is from Vasilis Kokkoris.
The image caption is.
A 3D image of a network.
Scientists say that the use of pesticides, fertilisers, and deforestation are threatening the health of the fungal networks.
Current estimates put the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the air and locked up in the soil at five billion tonnes, but it could be more than three times higher.
"If we lose this system, it will have serious consequences for our ability to fight climate change," said Prof Kiers.
She said that Fungi are the invisible engineers of the ecosystems.
25% of all species on Earth are found in the soil, yet current plans to conserve biodiversity above ground fail to protect 50% of the species below ground.
The total length of the network in the top 10 cm of soil is more than half the width of the universe.
It's called conservativism
There is a biodiversity.
Climate change.
The environment.
