Decoding Fungal Trade Algorithms for Carbon Drawdown

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• Toby Kiers, SPUN, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
• Friday 31 January 2025, 13:00-13:55
• FW11, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .

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Abstract

Mycorrhizal fungi form complex living networks that connect plants. These fungal networks supply nutrients to the Earth’s plant communities in exchange for plant carbon. As a result, mycorrhizal fungi draw down _{13 billion tons of CO2 per year into the soil annually, equivalent to} 1/3 of global anthropogenic energy-related emissions. We have developed an imaging robot that allows us to now study the dynamics of nutrient flows through mycorrhizal networks. Our past work has shown that fungi control carbon and nutrient flow with surprising precision, allowing them to resolve complex supply-chain trade-offs. These trade algorithms have been shaped by natural selection for hundreds of millions of years. A better understanding of these design principles can help us develop effective ecological interventions that rely on fungi to draw more carbon below ground. 

Bio

Dr. Toby Kiers is a Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the VU in Amsterdam, where her lab studies the flows of carbon and nutrients inside fungal networks. She is the co-founder, Executive Director, and Chief Scientist of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). Kiers was named by TIME100 as an emerging leader for her work decoding fungal trade patterns, and an Explorer 50 for her work in mapping underground fungal systems across the Earth. She is the youngest scientist to ever win the SPINOZA prize – known as the ‘Dutch Nobel Prize’. Kiers won the E.O. Wilson Award for Natural History, and the Stairway to Impact Award recognizing researchers creating societal impact with their scientific results. Kiers was named by the UNas one of the 22 scientists making a difference in biodiversity research, and an ‘Innovator to Watch’ by Smithsonian Magazine.

This talk is part of the Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST series.

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