So Cool: Tackling Global Warming with the Lowly Fungi

Fungi got little attention in the past and certainly not as a pathway for lowering carbon emissions. Mycologists are now researching Mycorrhiza, the symbiotic relationship of a plant and a fungus, and are already making surprising discoveries. The microscopic fungus that clings to tree roots is supplying the tree with nutrients and, in return, obtains nutrients from the tree. During this process is the absorption, release, and storage of carbon at various steps of nutrient exchanges. Fungi are proving to be efficient at retaining some of the carbon which means less carbon in the atmosphere. Should fungi be on environmental protection lists as one pathway to preventing some amount of global warming?