Fungi Expert Is on a Mission to Protect Global Natural Underground Networks

Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist and the youngest recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, has dedicated her career to studying and protecting mycorrhizal fungi—the underground networks connecting plants through nutrient exchanges. In 1997, at just 19, she became the youngest researcher on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, where she conducted fieldwork on mycorrhizal fungi under the guidance of marine ecologist Catherine Lovelock. Her research revealed how these fungi, invisible to the naked eye, form symbiotic relationships with plant roots, trading water and nutrients for carbon produced through photosynthesis. Around 80% of plant species rely on these networks, which Kiers describes as a ‘symbiotic market’ functioning like an underground subway system. Kiers now leads the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), a non-profit mapping fungal communities and advocating for their conservation. As a professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she has explored how these microbial partnerships evolved over 400 million years. Her work emphasizes the complexity of soil ecosystems, where trillions of bacteria and fungi coexist in a tiny space, performing critical roles often overlooked by the public. During her Tyler Prize ceremony address in Amsterdam on April 23, Kiers distributed soil samples to attendees, urging them to recognize the unseen biodiversity beneath their feet. She highlighted how mycorrhizal fungi facilitate nutrient distribution, enabling forests and ecosystems to thrive. Her early findings, published in *Ecology Letters* in 2001, examined the host-specificity of these fungi in tropical forests, laying the groundwork for her ongoing advocacy. Kiers’ mission extends beyond academia, aiming to raise global awareness about the fragility of underground networks. By protecting mycorrhizal fungi, she argues, humanity can safeguard the health of terrestrial ecosystems and the plants that depend on them. Her work bridges scientific research with conservation efforts, positioning SPUN as a key organization in preserving these vital but often ignored components of nature.