GoKawiilUnderground fungi. This interactive globe highlights the density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi networks in the soil. If laid end to end, the strands forming the network would stretch to about one billion times the distance between Earth and the Sun. The fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants, to which they are linked by interconnected networks of tubular cells called hyphae that pass carbon and nutrients between plants and soil. With these data, published in Science, scientists hope to study how these ecosystems react to climate change and human activity.
Credit: Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), Moritz Stefaner – Truth & Beauty