Scientists discover a hidden fungal network beneath Earth stretching 110 quadrillion kilometres
Inside Earth 's hidden giant fungal network Why are people comparing it to Project Hail Mary? What are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? The hidden 'wood wide
Inside Earth 's hidden giant fungal network Why are people comparing it to Project Hail Mary? What are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? The hidden 'wood wide web' beneath our feet Why the discovery matters for climate change Where are these fungal networks most abundant? Why scientists are concerned about agriculture What could this mean for the future? A hidden world that supports life on Earth Beneath forests, grasslands and even the soil in our gardens lies an extraordinary hidden world that most people never see. Scientists have now mapped a vast underground network of microscopic fungi stretching an estimated 110 quadrillion kilometres across Earth's topsoil, a distance so immense that it could reach the Sun nearly a billion times. The discovery has drawn comparisons to Astrophage, the mysterious organism from Andy Weir's science-fiction novel Project Hail Mary. While the comparison is more metaphor than reality, researchers say these ancient fungal networks quietly support much of life on Earth, helping plants grow, storing carbon and maintaining the health of entire ecosystems.The discovery comes from a major international study led by researchers associated with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). Using more than 16,000 soil samples and advanced computer modelling, scientists created the most detailed global map yet of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, a group of fungi that live in partnership with plant roots.The study revealed that these microscopic fungal threads, known as hyphae, collectively stretch around 110 quadrillion kilometres through the world's soils. Although invisible to the naked eye, they form one of the largest biological systems on Earth.Importantly, scientists did not find a single giant fungus circling the planet.
Instead, the figure represents the combined length of countless fungal networks spread across ecosystems worldwide.The comparison comes from Project Hail Mary, the bestselling novel by Andy Weir, which introduced readers to Astrophage, a microscopic lifeform capable of storing and transferring enormous amounts of energy.The newly mapped fungal networks are not alien organisms and they do not behave like Astrophage. However, researchers say the comparison resonates because both involve hidden biological systems operating on an immense scale.Like the fictional organism, these fungi move resources across vast networks, support larger ecosystems and possess an influence far greater than their microscopic size suggests.In reality, these underground fungi have been performing their role on Earth for hundreds of millions of years.Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, often shortened to AM fungi, form mutually beneficial relationships with approximately 70% of all land plants.The partnership works like a natural trade agreement. Plants produce sugars through photosynthesis and provide some of that energy to the fungi. In return, the fungi help plants absorb water and essential nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil.The fungi extend far beyond plant roots, acting as an underground extension of a plant's root system. This allows plants to access resources that would otherwise remain out of reach.Scientists believe these fungi played a crucial role in helping plants colonise land roughly 475 million years ago.Researchers often refer to these fungal systems as the "wood wide web" because they connect plants through vast underground networks.The fungal threads can link multiple plants together, allowing nutrients, water and chemical signals to move through the soil.
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