Enthusiasts have developed an interactive map of the world’s fungi

Scientists have, for the first time in history, created a global map of the giant underground network of fungi that quite literally envelops the entire planet. The study showed that the total length of these invisible threads reaches an incredible 110 quadrillion kilometers — almost a billion times the distance from Earth to the Sun.

This refers to microscopic fungal structures — so-called mycorrhizal fungi. They form a vast network of the finest filaments underground, linking plant roots into a single system for exchanging resources. Scientists have long called it the «natural internet» or Wood Wide Web — an analogue of the World Wide Web, only created by nature itself.

To create the map, researchers analyzed more than 16,000 soil samples from all continents, and then used machine learning and robotic imaging of hundreds of thousands of fungal filaments. The result was the world’s first interactive scheme, making it possible to see the distribution of this hidden infrastructure across the entire planet.

The most astonishing thing is the scale. In every square centimeter of the topsoil layer there can be about 4.4 meters of fungal filaments. And in one teaspoon of soil, their length can reach 10 meters. If all these filaments were stretched into a single line, the result would be a network that could connect the Earth and the Sun hundreds of millions of times.

But this system is not just enormous — it is vital to the existence of most ecosystems. According to scientists, mycorrhizal fungi help more than 70% of all land plants obtain water and nutrients, and in return receive carbon produced in the process of photosynthesis.

The study also showed that fungal networks play a key role in the fight against climate change. Every year they help transfer about 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the soil, which is roughly comparable to 11% of all anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. In effect, the underground world of fungi works as one of the largest natural mechanisms for storing carbon on Earth.

However, scientists warn that this invisible infrastructure is under threat. Intensive agriculture, plowing, chemical fertilizers, and soil degradation have already led to fungal network density on farmland being almost twice as low as in natural ecosystems.

The new map makes it possible for the first time to see not only the scale of this underground universe, but also the regions where it is most vulnerable. Researchers hope the discovery will help better protect soils and preserve one of the most important life-support systems of our planet — one that humanity has hardly noticed until now.

Link to the website with the interactive map: https://a-hidden-infrastructure.spun.earth/map