It feels very good to have some positive news to report in the world of environmental progress.
A few days ago, SPUN, the NGO that I often write about, published a global analysis and data set that maps out underground mycorrhizal biodiversity.
And the news got some attention! You can read about this in the New York Times, The Guardian, Science Magazine, Inside Climate News, Forbes, and Grist, to name a few.
Maybe you didn’t quite catch the news. Maybe this even sounds a bit wonky to you. So here are some reasons why we think this news matters and is worthy of celebration.
Just as we work hard to protect above-ground biodiversity (see the great work of organizations like CI, TNC, WWF, and many more), we should do the same underground. But to do that, we need to know where the underground fungal biodiversity is. Now we do. And it turns out we have some serious catching up to do: Roughly 90% of underground fungal biodiversity hotspots lie outside aboveground protected areas.
The primary reason we need to protect this biodiversity is so it’s not lost. Period. Just like aboveground biodiversity. But, if you want more practical reasons, there are many: mycorrhizal networks bolster above-ground biodiversity, increase ecosystem resilience, sustain crops, enrich soil, draw down carbon, and provide other valuable ecosystem services.
SPUN’s achievement is a great reminder of what NGOs can do. SPUN is only a few years old and still quite small, with only 15 people on its full-time team. And look what they’ve managed to accomplish! It’s a great example of why we always encourage our readers to support NGOs.
And, as you know, we also encourage our readers to roll up their sleeves and get involved in whatever ways they can. Yes, this means you too. You can likely make a bigger difference than you realize. You can even find some personal fulfillment while you’re at it. I’m an example of that this week. I volunteer with SPUN and serve as the board chair. It’s hugely gratifying and fun for me to play a small role with the organization and to see big steps like this happen.
Onward,
