Toby Kiers
@tobykiers.bsky.social
Executive Director http://SPUN.earth Society for the Protection of Underground Networks Professor Evolutionary Biology (VU, Amsterdam) Mycorrhizal Fungi, Evolution of Cooperation, Symbiosis http://tobykiers.com
Symiotic fungi are crucial to restoration on earth's most remote island www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @spun.earth @tobykiers.bsky.social @nature.org
Symbiotic fungi underlie the regeneration potential of island rainforests
Symbioses can be vital on islands, where low species diversity leaves few alternative partners and the failure of associations can cascade into broade…
sciencedirect.com
SPUN and NYU Law’s More-than-Human Life (MOTH) Program have partnered on a new initiative to support SPUN’s Underground Explorers grantees in advocating for mycorrhizal fungal communities across Earth's ecosystems. 🔗 Find out more about the Underground Advocates Program: buff.ly/KhbJmvS
We need to make #worldsoilday more about the soils of THE WHOLE WORLD. Across African datasets, there are fewer than 5 mycorrhizal samples per 1 million square kilometers, making the continent 48 times less sampled than Europe. Today, we celebrate SPUN’s 38 Underground Explorers across Africa 🧵
Amid social protests and rising tensions in Ecuador, dozens of bank accounts that belong to Indigenous leaders and organizations, land rights activists and nonprofits have been reportedly frozen for weeks, by order of the state. Sources told Mongabay their accounts froze suddenly without warning.
Ecuador freezes bank accounts of Indigenous leaders, land defenders
Since September 2025, dozens of Indigenous leaders and organizations, land rights activists and nonprofits in Ecuador have reportedly been unable to access their funds, after a state institution…
news.mongabay.com
With Merlin Sheldrake, @tobykiers.bsky.social, @hhwalter.bsky.social, & Fungi Foundation’s Giuliana Furci, we’re mapping deep soil fungi in the high-altitude grasslands of Peru. Special thanks to Cosmo Sheldrake, elders from the Q'ero and Ccorca communities and Miski Tours. 📸 Tomás Munita
👏 Twaalf jonge onderzoekers zijn door de KNAW onderscheiden met een 𝗞𝗡𝗔𝗪 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱. Met deze prijs erkent de KNAW hun wetenschappelijke talent maar ook hun rol als bijv. docent. Benieuwd naar hun onderzoek? Kijk dan hier: www.knaw.nl/nl/nieuws/di...
Recently, we mapped endemic fungal networks in Zagori 🇬🇷 with @seanmaston.bsky.social, @vkokkoris.bsky.social and team. Vikos Gorge is a hotspot for endangered species, with underground systems supported by rock formations ~160 million yrs old. We're now returning to cover more ground.
This week, I was awarded a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant. So proud to be included among individuals recognized for “extraordinary originality & dedication in their creative pursuits”. This research has been possible because I collaborate with the most incredible teams. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/a...
MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 ‘Genius Grant’ Winners
nytimes.com
Congrats to Executive Director @tobykiers.bsky.social on being named a 2025 #MacFellow by the MacArthur Foundation (buff.ly/HOU1qb7). Also called the “Genius Grant,” it’s one of the largest awards in the US, honoring exceptionally talented and creative individuals. Shout out to fellow awardees! 👏
So excited to be representing @spun.earth at the #IUCNCongress! 🌍✨ I’m eager to connect with you and explore how we can integrate mycorrhizal fungi into your conservation strategies. Schedule a time to meet up: www.spun.earth/events/iucn-...
Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN)@spun.earth · 10mo ago🚨SPUN’S Biodiversity Conservation Strategist, @catiacanteiro.bsky.social will be at the #IUCNcongress presenting our latest mycorrhizal maps to conservation leaders. Schedule a meeting with Cátia: buff.ly/dy2amO3 Visit SPUN’s event page: buff.ly/aQ7L97Y
Mycorrhizal allies: synergizing forest carbon and multifunctional restoration @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social by Tengteng Li (李腾腾), Richard Phillips, @mrillig.bsky.social, @gangst.bsky.social, @tobykiers.bsky.social, Paola Bonfante, Nico Eisenhauer & Zhanfeng Liu (刘占锋) www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Mycorrhizal allies: synergizing forest carbon and multifunctional restoration
While forest degradation persists across many regions, restoration efforts have predominantly targeted aboveground carbon, often overlooking critical belowground ecosystem functions. Plant–mycorrhizal...
cell.com
Fungal networks have remained in the dark, despite the extraordinary ways they sustain life on land and they need urgent protection. Read the article by Taro Kaneko in the @theguardian.com here: www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
📣 GSBI's latest blog has just been published 🎉 In this blog, Dr. Laura Van Galen discusses the mystery of dark taxa in ectomycorrhizal fungi 🍄 Read it here 👇 www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/blog-beneath...
The problem of “dark taxa” in ectomycorrhizal fungal conservation and research — Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
Laura van Galen, ETH Zürich (Switzerland) & SPUN (Society for the Protection of Underground Networks)
globalsoilbiodiversity.org
“For centuries, we’ve mapped mountains, forests, and oceans. But these fungi have remained in the dark, despite the extraordinary ways they sustain life on land.” @tobykiers.bsky.social , @spun.earth
Earth’s Underground Fungi Networks Need Urgent Protection: Study - EcoWatch
The underground fungi networks that help sustain Earth’s ecosystems are in need of urgent conservation action, according to SPUN.
ecowatch.com
SPUN is featured in @science.org in a piece written by @humbertobasilio.bsky.social. Learn where some of the most unique fungal communities exist, such as West Africa’s Guinean forests, Tasmania’s temperate rainforests, and Brazil’s Cerrado savanna. Read here: www.science.org/content/arti...
Most of Earth’s critical underground fungus is unprotected
First global map of mushrooms that form beneficial relationships with plant roots reveals 90% live outside of conservation areas
science.org
Who lives underground? Find out now in our new paper published in @nature.com. Key finding: 90% of predicted mycorrhizal biodiversity hotspots lie outside protected areas. Read here: buff.ly/WmDqAP3 🧵
We know most animals don’t cross the Wallace Line. Not even those with wings. But what about fungi? Underground Explorer Helbert Lim is studying the influence of the Wallace on fungal dispersal, with the potential of recording new species.
🌾 New PhD chapter OneEarth @cp-oneearth.bsky.social For decades, crops were thought to yield better outside their centers of origin by escaping native pests and diseases. Using AI and remote sensing, we found no yield advantages for crops outside origins. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Crop yields are not greater outside centers of origin
Scientists have long posited that crops achieve higher yields outside their centers of origin by escaping pests and pathogens. However, this assumptio…
sciencedirect.com
The saguaro cactus is an icon of the American West. But little is known about a key factor to their long lives and resiliency hidden under the ground: mycorrhizal fungi. Researchers with @spun.earth are trying to change that. My latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/2206202...
Searching for Hidden Fungi in the Sonoran Desert - Inside Climate News
Mycorrhizal fungi are vital to ecosystems around the world, but remain largely understudied, especially in arid regions. They may prove critical to the survival of fragile deserts stressed by climate ...
insideclimatenews.org
🧪🧬Should we reignite genetic manipulation attempts on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungi? Our review in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social suggests the time is ripe. With: Midge Woodward @paszkowskilab.bsky.social @alexdallaire.bsky.social Open access🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.ti... #scicomm
Is genetic manipulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi possible? @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social review from @vkokkoris.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Is genetic manipulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi possible?
Unlike many fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have proven recalcitrant to genetic manipulation due to their obligate biotrophic lifestyle and multinucleate, coenocytic cellular structure. In th...
cell.com
Find out why SPUN scientists @camilletruong.bsky.social and @laura-vangalen.bsky.social are desperate to know more about dark taxa in this new article by Daniel Graham, featured on BBC Magazine's Discover Wildlife: www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/...
Dark taxa: why scientists are desperate to know more about this secret network of underground life | Discover Wildlife
Huge numbers of subterranean fungi remain unknown to science, posing problems for conservation around the world, say researchers.
discoverwildlife.com
Have you ever heard of the term “dark taxa”? Published in @currentbiology.bsky.social, a new study reveals an astonishing 83% of ectomycorrhizal #fungi are classified as dark taxa, existing only through their DNA sequences and eluding formal classification. 🧵
Vital DNA research on ‘invisible’ species of fungi performing those functions that transformed 🌍 and maintain essential ecosystem functions Still so much to learn! 🍄🟫 Huge congratulations to @spun.earth & the wonderful @bethanfmanley.bsky.social @tobykiers.bsky.social & @thecrobe.bsky.social
Laura van Galen@laura-vangalen.bsky.social · last yr.Our paper shows that most ectomycorrhizal fungal species (83% of OTUs) are "dark taxa": species we detect in DNA, but can't match to known species names. We map global "darkspots" - the parts of the world most in need of more research. @spun.earth @ethz.ch www.cell.com/current-biol...
📢Our synthesis of current knowledge on the fascinating cell of #arbuscular #mycorrhizal fungi is out @currentbiology.bsky.social, part of the special #fungi issue. With @rachaelcargill.bsky.social @tobykiers.bsky.social @thomasshimizu.bsky.social Open access link: www.cell.com/current-biol... 1/4
Most fungi in Madagascar remain a mystery and one of few Malagasy mycologists, Underground Explorer Dr. Anna Ralaiveloarisoa, is working alongside Kew Madagascar and PBZT, to urgently catalog fungal communities before they vanish.
Healthy soil fosters a thriving ecosystem. In Mexico, nearly 45% of land has degraded soils and we lack sufficient data. Underground Explorer Roberto Garibay, alongside UNAM experts, are working on the Atlas of Mexico’s Soil Biodiversity to enhance research, education, and outreach efforts.
Digging deep for mycorrhizal fungi at 12K feet in upland Peru. Great to be led by @hhwalter.bsky.social as we explored deep soil fungal communities and their role in regulating the climate. Sound ON for full experience of Cosmo Sheldrake on clawhammer banjo ⬇️
Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN)@spun.earth · last yr.What fungi live deep in the Earth’s grassland soils? We joined @hhwalter.bsky.social in Manu National Park in Peru to sample mycorrhizal fungi in high-altitude grasslands. This project with Fungi Foundation explores how deep soil fungi help regulate the Earth's carbon cycle. 🌍 #BiodiversityDay
