Mobilising mycologists worldwide to conserve underground fungal networks

Underground fungal networks are a critical natural resource absent from current conservation and climate agendas. Fungal networks stitch together ecosystems, sequester massive amounts of carbon, and mediate global nutrient cycles. However, these networks are disappearing at an alarming rate, speeding up climate change and potentially destabilising ecosystems. SPUN is working with researchers from all over the globe to carry out expeditions to map where hotspots for fungal biodiversity can be found. We are dedicated to capacity building and the facilitation of fungal research in all corners of the globe, and we are aiming to build a network of researchers and citizen scientists to conserve this vital underground biodiversity.

About the organiser:

Bethan is the Project Manager for Global Data Science at SPUN, an organisation that is aiming to catalogue and preserve underground fungal biodiversity. Bethan began studying underground fungal networks during a PhD at the University of Cambridge examining Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and their genetic interactions with crop plants. She has since continued work on the genomics of symbiotic fungi as a PostDoctoral Researcher, and worked as a Senior Computer Biologist at the Sanger Institute, UK, on the Tree of Life Project that aims to sequence all eukaryotic species on Earth.