There’s a Global Network of Fungi Under Your Feet. This Is the First Complete Map
There’s a Global Network of Fungi Under Your Feet. This Is the First Complete Map
在你脚下存在着一个全球性的真菌网络：这是首张完整地图
Beneath the Earth’s surface lies an extraordinary underground fungal network of almost unimaginable scale. An international team of researchers has, for the first time, produced a global map of this vast mycorrhizal network—the system of fungal filaments that forms mutually beneficial partnerships with plants across the planet. They estimate that the network stretches for roughly 110 quadrillion kilometers in total, nearly 1 billion times the distance between the Earth and the sun. The findings were published in Science.
在地球表面之下，隐藏着一个规模大到难以想象的非凡地下真菌网络。一个国际研究团队首次绘制出了这张庞大的菌根网络全球地图——这是一种与全球植物形成互利共生关系的真菌丝系统。据估计，该网络总长度约为 110 千万亿公里，几乎是地球到太阳距离的 10 亿倍。相关研究结果已发表在《科学》（Science）杂志上。
Beneath Your Feet
在你脚下
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) form underground networks that support plant life and help regulate the Earth’s climate. Through microscopic filaments known as hyphae, these fungi establish symbiotic relationships with plant roots, supplying water and nutrients in exchange for carbon produced through photosynthesis. The scale of this phenomenon is enormous: Current estimates suggest that about 70 percent of all plant species depend on these mycorrhizal partnerships for their survival.
丛枝菌根真菌（AM 真菌）构成的地下网络支撑着植物的生命，并有助于调节地球气候。通过被称为“菌丝”的微观丝状体，这些真菌与植物根系建立共生关系，为植物提供水分和养分，以换取植物通过光合作用产生的碳。这一现象的规模极其巨大：目前的估计显示，约 70% 的植物物种依赖这种菌根共生关系来生存。
Mapping the Global Network
绘制全球网络地图
Although a study published in Nature last year examined global patterns in the diversity of underground mycorrhizal fungal communities, no previous research had quantified the density and worldwide distribution of this subterranean network.
尽管去年发表在《自然》（Nature）杂志上的一项研究考察了地下菌根真菌群落多样性的全球模式，但此前尚无研究对这一地下网络的密度和全球分布进行过量化。
To create the first global map of this hidden system, the authors of the new study compiled data from 322 previous studies, along with 16,000 soil samples collected from a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems. Using machine learning techniques and advanced imaging technologies, the team estimated both the network’s total extent and its biomass.
为了绘制出这张隐藏系统的首张全球地图，这项新研究的作者汇编了 322 项既往研究的数据，以及从各种陆地生态系统中采集的 16,000 份土壤样本。通过使用机器学习技术和先进的成像技术，研究团队估算出了该网络的总范围及其生物量。
“With the advent of new technologies in high-resolution imaging, machine learning, and robotics, we are beginning to reveal what has long remained hidden beneath our feet,” said coauthor Corentin Bisot. “We are discovering how the complex network-forming structures of fungi transport nutrients and help regulate the climate.”
“随着高分辨率成像、机器学习和机器人技术等新技术的出现，我们开始揭示那些长期隐藏在我们脚下的秘密，”合著者 Corentin Bisot 表示，“我们正在发现真菌复杂的网络结构是如何运输养分并帮助调节气候的。”
An Immense Underground Network
庞大的地下网络
The researchers estimate that the underground fungal network has a total length of approximately 110 quadrillion kilometers. They also calculate that it contains about 300 megatons of carbon in biomass—equivalent to roughly four to six times the total mass of all living humans.
研究人员估计，该地下真菌网络的总长度约为 110 千万亿公里。他们还计算出，其生物量中含有约 3 亿吨碳，相当于全人类总质量的 4 到 6 倍。
According to the study, these fungal networks transport the equivalent of around 4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the soil each year, representing approximately 11 percent of annual human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.
根据这项研究，这些真菌网络每年向土壤中输送的碳量相当于约 40 亿公吨二氧化碳，约占人类每年二氧化碳排放量的 11%。
“It is difficult to overstate the importance and sheer scale of these fungi,” said lead author Justin Stewart of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks. “A single teaspoon of soil can contain up to 10 meters of mycorrhizal network.”
“这些真菌的重要性和巨大规模怎么强调都不为过，”地下网络保护协会（Society for the Protection of Underground Networks）的首席作者 Justin Stewart 说，“仅一茶匙土壤中就可能含有长达 10 米的菌根网络。”
A Planetary Circulatory System
行星级的循环系统
The researchers also issued a warning. According to the study, the density of underground fungal networks in agricultural soils is only about half that found in natural ecosystems. Yet grasslands—which contain an estimated 40 percent of the world’s arbuscular mycorrhizal biomass—are among the least protected ecosystems and are being converted to agricultural land at a rate four times faster than forests.
研究人员同时也发出了警告。研究显示，农业土壤中地下真菌网络的密度仅为自然生态系统中的一半左右。然而，草原——拥有全球约 40% 的丛枝菌根生物量——却是受保护程度最低的生态系统之一，且其转化为农田的速度比森林快四倍。
The scientists warn that less dense fungal networks could reduce the soil’s capacity to store carbon and recycle nutrients.
科学家们警告称，真菌网络密度降低可能会削弱土壤储存碳和循环养分的能力。
“Mycorrhizal fungi have shaped life on Earth for hundreds of millions of years, yet we still know remarkably little about how the infrastructure of these living transport systems is distributed across the planet,” said coauthor Merlin Sheldrake. “This study marks an exciting step toward understanding how this planetary circulatory system functions, and it points to ways we can work more effectively with fungi to address many of the defining challenges of our time, from food security to climate change.”
“菌根真菌塑造地球生命已有数亿年，但我们对这些生命运输系统的基础设施如何在地球上分布知之甚少，”合著者 Merlin Sheldrake 表示，“这项研究标志着我们在理解这一行星级循环系统如何运作方面迈出了令人兴奋的一步，它也指明了我们可以如何更有效地与真菌合作，以应对我们这个时代面临的诸多关键挑战，从粮食安全到气候变化。”
This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian. 本文最初发表于《连线》意大利版（WIRED Italia），由意大利语翻译而来。