Forests are one of the world’s largest ecosystems and play a vital role in storing carbon and regulating the climate at a local, regional and continental scale by producing atmospheric moisture, rainfall and controlling temperature. In and around the tangled roots of the forest floor, fungi and bacteria grow with trees, exchanging nutrients through symbiotic relationships so that both can flourish. Yet, to fully understand the functioning of forest systems, we must understand this symbiotic soil microorganisms supporting their nutrient supply, their ability to sequester carbon and to withstand the impacts of climate change.



Through a long-term collaboration with Stanford University, the Crowther Lab generated the first spatially explicit map of forest symbiotic status of mycorrhizal fungi. Similar to an MRI that helps to understand the functioning of the brain, this global map of fungal networks helps us understand the functioning of forest ecosystems and their reaction to climate change.