Thanks BenLurkin!
I doubt the badgers and snakes could reach that far.
The weekly digest list of topics is down below.
Posted on 06/13/2026 11:37:44 AM PDT by BenLurkin
These subterranean structures, called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks, work in partnership with most of the world's land plants, feeding plants nitrogen and phosphorus in return for their carbon. Now, the first global map of this fungal network has revealed where their intricate branching structures are most densely packed.
In grasslands that are high-altitude or flooded grasslands, such as the Everglades in Florida, the top 6 inches (15 centimeters) of soil are especially dense, containing around 40% of the global fungal biomass.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are made up of tiny branching threads called hyphae. These hyphal networks form two-way pipes to channel nutrients and carbon to and from plants, respectively. As a result, the fungi gobble up vast amounts of carbon. One estimate found they take in around 4.3 billion tons (3.9 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, representing roughly 11% of global fossil fuel emissions in 2021.
The researchers found that there is an average hyphal density of 237 feet per cubic inch (4.4 meters per cubic cm) in land topsoil. If all hyphae were laid out in a straight line, the researchers estimated they would span approximately 68 quadrillion miles (110 quadrillion km). That's nearly a billion times the distance of Earth to the sun, or around 10% the width of the Milky Way galaxy.
Wild grasslands had the highest density, at 355 feet per cubic inch (6.6 meters per cubic cm), while cultivated trees had the lowest, at 204 feet per cubic inch (3.8 meters per cubic cm). Although the team could not specify which agricultural practices had the greatest impact on hyphal density, fungicides and phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers could explain the relative sparsity in cropland topsoil...
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
if fungi weren’t there to break down cellulose think how deep the forest floor would be................
thank goodness for toe nail fungus, else we would be covered in toe nails.
Crap. As if I wasn’t already having enough trouble sleeping.
If all hyphae were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised! They are sex fiends.
About 1.2 quintillion, not including the end zones.
Fungi ping...
bttt!
Ten percent of the Milky Way? Just how many Earths would that have to be? Millions? Billions?
Beat me to it.
8th grade science chapter - if I recall my 1970s.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) belong to the phylum Glomeromycota and form distinctive structures both inside and outside plant roots. AMF penetrate the plant cell and approximately 80% of terrestrial plant species have AMF. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) are primarily Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes and do not penetrate the plant cell. AMF associate with herbs, grasses, crops and many trees. EMF typically form with woody plants, especially in forests. In forest soils, about 90% of the biomass is fungi, while in agricultural soils, it is about 50%.
A multidisciplinary study like that rests on an enormous knowledge base much more easily addressed with AI than was possible five years ago.
Thanks BenLurkin!
I doubt the badgers and snakes could reach that far.
The weekly digest list of topics is down below.
The other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, alpha:
Ping!...............
Yes, and more here
Lesson 4.1 - Introduction to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Lesson 4.1 introduces the Kingdom of fungi and the phylum Glomeromycota which are the arbuscular mycorrhizal, root symbiotic fungi which partner up with at least 80% of terrestrial plants playing a vital role in plant nutrition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikMNhNZxO7s
That sounds like the plot of a horror movie I saw when I was a kid...
Doesn't seen like anything a little Tinactin can't take care of.
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