New study in @nature.com finds pesticides in 70% of soils sampled across Europe, showing they suppress beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Authors call for assessing pesticide impacts on entire soil communities to better protect soil biodiversity. Link to paper: buff.ly/wJzWiYB

A must read by @tullis.bsky.social in @thebulletin.org. This thoughtful and comprehensive article follows the Kingdom of Fungi in “the Mountain Kingdom.” Read here: buff.ly/ArmA5tM See @tobykiers.bsky.social and local collaborators in the film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=maer...

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re highlighting women scientists who are working to understand mycorrhizal networks. By collecting soil samples, documenting fungal diversity, and comparing landscapes, their work reveals how soil biodiversity supports ecosystem health.

What is an Underground Astronaut? Like space and deep-sea explorers, Underground Astronauts study the unknown. They explore Earth’s underground ecosystems and employ emerging techniques to make invisible worlds. Read the article by SPUN's Jinsu Elhance: www.spun.earth/articles/und...

Underground Explorer Valeria Verrone and team are collecting soil samples across ecosystems in Indonesia. They're studying the fungi that support plants and help protect ecosystems from erosion. As natural areas are converted to farms, this work explores how fungal networks change with land use.

Massive thanks to those that have been rallying to help save @invam.bsky.social. Research on fungal life, climate resilience, agriculture, and ecosystem restoration depends on living collections like INVAM and on the staff who sustain them. 🔗 Donate: invam.ku.edu/donate

When happens to fungi when forests become farms? New research from @thecrobe.bsky.social and team shows agricultural conversion in the tropics eliminated ~80% of soil mycorrhizal fungal diversity. Open access paper: buff.ly/BsGYDht

Are you a researcher translating fungal science into real conservation action? 📣 Call for abstracts now open 📍14–17 April 2026 in Uppsala, Sweden 🔗 Apply: www.slu.se/en/fce2026/ ⏰ Deadline: 25 Feb 2026

📣 Become a 2026 Underground Explorer and help us map and protect the underground. Grant amount: Up to $10,000 USD Deadline: 22 March, 2026 at 23:59 UTC-10:00 (Hawaii) Link to apply: www.spun.earth/expeditions/apply

A 20 year rewilding project in Colombia’s Magdalena River Valley. Led by @adricorrales.bsky.social, with support from Micaela Tosi, Daniela León, Fundación Jardín Botánico de Medellín & Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. Read Adriana's SPUN Explainer: www.spun.earth/articles/rew...

On this episode of @livingonearthradio.bsky.social, Paloma Beltrán and Jenni Doering speak to @tobykiers.bsky.social about why fungi are foundational to healthy ecosystems and a resilient climate. 🔗 Listen or read the transcript here: www.loe.org/shows/segmen... 📷 Seth Carnill

⏰ 2026 Underground Explorers 🗓️ Applications opening on January 26th. Thank you to @burenjargal-2025.bsky.social (pictured) and all of our current and former Underground Explorers. 📷 Tomás Munita

👀 Recordatorio! Mañana aprenderemos sobre suelos y micorrizas. No te lo pierdas! 👀 In case you missed it, tomorrow we’ll learn about soils and mycorrhizae. Join us! 👀 Passando pra avisar: amanhã aprenderemos sobre solos e micorrizas. Vem com a gente! @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social #scicomm

Evolutionary biologist Dr Toby Kiers, a world-renowned expert on mycorrhizal networks and member of the Soil Stars, is being awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her transformative work www.the-microbiologist.com/news/biologi... @tobykiers.bsky.social @spun.earth

The World Champion of Fungus talks punk science in @nytimes.com. Thank you @alanburdick.bsky.social for sitting down with SPUN's @tobykiers.bsky.social, this year's @tylerprize.bsky.social Laureate. 🔗 Read here: buff.ly/4TVueaz

Le prix Tyler de l’accomplissement environnemental, parfois considéré comme le “Nobel de l’environnement”, a cette année été remis à la mycologue et biologiste @tobykiers.bsky.social !

SPUN and NYU Law’s More-than-Human Life (MOTH) Program have partnered on a new initiative to support SPUN’s Underground Explorers grantees in advocating for mycorrhizal fungal communities across Earth's ecosystems. 🔗 Find out more about the Underground Advocates Program: buff.ly/KhbJmvS

Incredibly excited to be able to share the news. Congrats @tobykiers.bsky.social on being named the 2026 @tylerprize.bsky.social Laureate.

We need help keeping the world’s largest living library of mycorrhizal fungi alive. The INVAM mycorrhizal culture collection is at risk due to federal funding cuts. Its loss would be catastrophic. Link to donate: 🔗 invam.ku.edu/donate Read @theguardian.com article: 🔗 buff.ly/hkEGXgu

Is illegal mining threatening Ghana’s underground biodiversity? Underground Explorer John Kupagme is uncovering Ghana’s hidden soil fungi, helping close Africa’s biodiversity data gap and hopes these data will help build a stronger argument for conservation and sustainable land use.

A year of mapping the world beneath our feet and advocating for the protection of underground fungal networks.

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 – the final fact⚡ 🔟 Soils are home to over half of all known species on Earth and mycorrhizal fungi make that diversity possible. Though unseen, they –create the hidden infrastructure of underground ecosystems. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/33Ov3UD).

As critical fungal hotspots disappear amid accelerating deforestation, mining, and land-use change, BBC Indonesia joined us in South Sulawesi to map the fungal diversity that may hold the key to future restoration. YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC9z... Article: www.bbc.com/indonesia/ar...

⏰ We’re hiring a Mycorrhizal Carbon Science Lead (Global / Remote) to guide and manage our climate and carbon research group. This role will set the direction for integrating fungal carbon science into broader conservation, climate, and restoration strategies. ➡️ Apply here: buff.ly/m5C7ni6

We need to make #worldsoilday more about the soils of THE WHOLE WORLD. Across African datasets, there are fewer than 5 mycorrhizal samples per 1 million square kilometers, making the continent 48 times less sampled than Europe. Today, we celebrate SPUN’s 38 Underground Explorers across Africa 🧵

SPUN is #hiring 👉 spun.bamboohr.com/careers We're looking to fill the following positions: 1. Fungal Molecular Ecologist 2. Designer 3. Communications Assistant Apply now and share with your networks 🌍 #Careers #Fungi #ScienceJobs #ScienceCommunication #Mycology

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 9️⃣ Mycorrhizal fungi are master soil engineers. They build the physical scaffolding for living soils, supporting agriculture, biodiversity, and carbon storage. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/33Ov3UD) and follow for new fungal facts.

We need a clear plan to meet the International Fungal Conservation Pledge. Fungi are essential to healthy soils and ecosystems — they cannot remain invisible in policy. #Biodiversity #NatureRecovery | @spun.earth

How does forest expansion impact the alpine ecosystems of the Himalayas? Underground Explorer Chandra Man Rai from @utahstate.bsky.social, is studying the impacts of these ecological and social changes to help guide sustainable conservation and management strategies.

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 8️⃣ Mycorrhizal fungi extend root systems up to 100 times their normal reach, enabling plants to access hard-to-reach nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. See the top 10 list (www.spun.earth/articles/top...) and follow for new fungal facts.

Join us in welcoming Ida Auken and Sir Andrew Steer to SPUN’s Board of Directors. As #COP30 Brazil approaches, we are pleased to bring new expertise to our leadership team to help guide our climate and biodiversity strategies.

Learn about fungal superhighways and the microscopic interactions around the rhizosphere that support all life above ground. @thesoilpodcast.bsky.social @spun.earth open.spotify.com/episode/7fv7...

🇵🇪 We sampled for fungi through WATER, SOIL, and ROCK to better understand how deep soil fungi help regulate the carbon cycle with @tobykiers.bsky.social, Merlin Sheldrake, Fungi Foundation’s Giuliana Furci and collaborator Walter Huaraca 🇵🇪 Special thanks to Cosmo Sheldrake and Tomás Munita.

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 7️⃣ Mycorrhizal fungi help clean polluted soils by breaking down or immobilizing harmful substances. They act as filters, protecting groundwater & supporting healthier ecosystems. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/33Ov3UD) and follow for new fungal facts.

⏰ Call for Abstracts: Closing knowledge gaps in fungal biodiversity and its conservation. Join SPUN’s @catiacanteiro.bsky.social at the @worldbioforum.bsky.social 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. Deadline: November 18, 2026 Link: buff.ly/Xcn1SjZ 📷 Konstantinos Tsakalidis

With Merlin Sheldrake, @tobykiers.bsky.social, @hhwalter.bsky.social, & Fungi Foundation’s Giuliana Furci, we’re mapping deep soil fungi in the high-altitude grasslands of Peru. Special thanks to Cosmo Sheldrake, elders from the Q'ero and Ccorca communities and Miski Tours. 📸 Tomás Munita

SPUN Underground Explorers gather in Kathmandu for 7th conference on Mountains in the Changing World #MoChWo2025. Dr. Samina Sarwar, Dr. Shiva Devkota and Roshan Ojha came together and shared their groundbreaking fungal research, revealing how mycorrhizal networks sustain Himalayan ecosystems. 🔬🍄⛰️

Are the fungi in Colombia’s moorlands >3,000m different from those along lowland coasts? Underground Explorer Luis Salcedo and Thomas Reitz collected samples across ecoregions to uncover who lives belowground. These data will help close the tropical research gap & support conservation efforts.

6️⃣ Functioning like underground pumps, mycorrhizal fungi transport water from deep in the soil to plant roots. This adaptation is key for survival in arid conditions and helps plants withstand drought and water stress. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/33Ov3UD) and follow for new fungal facts.

A découvrir : L’atlas souterrain des champignons mis au point par le SPUN et accessible gratuitement en ligne tinyurl.com/2bar5kew @spun.earth #ScienceCQFD

Recently, we mapped endemic fungal networks in Zagori 🇬🇷 with @seanmaston.bsky.social, @vkokkoris.bsky.social and team. Vikos Gorge is a hotspot for endangered species, with underground systems supported by rock formations ~160 million yrs old. We're now returning to cover more ground.

Big congratulations to @spun.earth’s Toby Kiers on being awarded a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant! You may remember Toby from our 2024 selection FLORA FAUNA FUNGA. You can read the announcement here: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/arts/design/macarthur-foundation-2025-genius-grant-winners.html

Congrats to Executive Director @tobykiers.bsky.social on being named a 2025 #MacFellow by the MacArthur Foundation (buff.ly/HOU1qb7). Also called the “Genius Grant,” it’s one of the largest awards in the US, honoring exceptionally talented and creative individuals. Shout out to fellow awardees! 👏

🚨SPUN’S Biodiversity Conservation Strategist, @catiacanteiro.bsky.social will be at the #IUCNcongress presenting our latest mycorrhizal maps to conservation leaders. Schedule a meeting with Cátia: buff.ly/dy2amO3 Visit SPUN’s event page: buff.ly/aQ7L97Y

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 5️⃣ Mycorrhizal fungi are often first responders post wildfires, droughts, and human disturbances, helping plants regenerate, rebuild root systems & reestablish nutrient pathways. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/nMNaB60) and follow for new fungal facts.

We have an article about integrating fungi in policy lead by @catiacanteiro.bsky.social !! @spun.earth

This is a beautiful volume in the Current Biology magazine about Fungi with gorgeous illustrations! highly recommended 🧡 🍄🍄 🤩 www.currentconservation.org/issues/19-3/

How did North American and European fungi end up in Argentine forests? New research in @newphyt.bsky.social from UE @nahpo.bsky.social and @martin-nunez.bsky.social looks underground at how non-native tree species and their fungal partners have spread. Read here: buff.ly/919OOs0

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15 4️⃣ Mycorrhizal fungi help draw down ~13 billion tons of carbon into the soil annually–nearly 1/3 of global emissions from fossil fuels. See the top 10 list (buff.ly/56WQ1oO) and follow for new fungal facts.

Led by SPUN's @adricorrales.bsky.social, we visited Huila, Colombia with -196°C liquid nitrogen to collect fungal RNA. RNA offers a look into the function of fungal genes, but it degrades quickly, so all samples had to be frozen immediately. Full field update from Colombia coming soon.