There’s no silver bullet to address climate change, but experts are finding some solutions that are extraordinarily effective at mitigating environmental shifts. One game changer, according to leading mycologist Paul Stamets, is the humble mushroom.
In this BBC StoryWorks chapter of the Climate Academy by Grounded, a digital series featuring some of the world’s leading climate solutionists, Stamets—mycologist, speaker, author, medical researcher and founder of Fungi Perfecti—discusses the deep impact that the mycelium, or the vast root systems of mushrooms, can have on the climate.
The mycelium, which extends more than 300 miles down into the earth, is excellent at taking in and breaking down hydrocarbons. That ability gives it several crucial roles in the forest ecosystem. First, it can break down toxins, making it a protective force for the soil and plants around it. Mycelium also sequesters a great deal of carbon, which keeps climate-warming carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere (some fungi can store 70 percent more carbon in the soil!). Furthermore, the mycelium is able to break some of that stored carbon down into carbohydrates, which then act as nutrients for the soil.
Those rich soils in turn welcome a greater variety of plant and animal life, and because ecosystems work together to protect the Earth from environmental harm, greater biodiversity makes for a more ecologically secure planet. Plant diversity also helps improve carbon sequestration: soil can hold two to three times more carbon when it hosts diverse plant life.
To protect the planet and ourselves, it’s crucial to encourage biodiversity through the creation of rich soils, and one easy way to do that is simply allowing fungi to grow. That means embracing decomposition—allowing dead trees to rot instead of removing them, for example—a low-lift solution leaving nature to its own devices.
“Solutions are right underneath our feet,” says Stamets. Don’t forget to look down.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2BowbC%2B2LCmq6OjZLCttcyaq55lkZiupbHMsmamsZOauarBzGakmqykmr%2B0