Underground Fungi Saving Grasslands
Nature in crisis demands unconventional solutions. While above-ground conservation focuses on tree planting and wildlife corridors, scientists are increasingly looking downward—exploring the microscopic, complex world beneath our feet to reverse catastrophic land degradation. The Invisible Crisis Facing Global Ecosystems Around the world, terrestrial ecosystems face unprecedented stress from climate change, overgrazing, and intensive industrial use. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in Central Asia, where vast drylands and steppes are experiencing severe desertification. In Mongolia alone, approximately 77% of the total national territory has already suffered from varying degrees of land degradation. This environmental crisis threatens not only unique nomadic livelihoods and fragile wildlife populations, but also the global carbon balance. Traditional restoration methods—such as manual reseeding or mechanical stabilization—often fail in arid and semi-arid environm...
