Sarah knelt in her backyard garden, frustrated. Despite watering religiously and adding fertilizer, her tomatoes looked sickly while her neighbor’s thrived in seemingly identical conditions. What she couldn’t see was happening beneath the soil – an intricate network of fungal threads connecting plant roots, sharing resources and information in ways that would revolutionize our understanding of life on Earth.
This invisible world beneath our feet has just earned its greatest champion the most prestigious honor in environmental science. American biologist Toby Kiers has been awarded the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the “Nobel of the environment,” for her groundbreaking work on fungal networks that’s reshaping how we think about climate change.
While most climate conversations center on carbon emissions and renewable energy, Kiers spent nearly three decades revealing that some of our planet’s most powerful climate regulators live underground, invisible to the naked eye yet essential to life as we know it.
Why This “Nobel of the Environment” Matters More Than Ever
The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement isn’t just another scientific award. Since 1973, this University of Southern California-hosted honor has recognized researchers who fundamentally change how humanity understands and protects our planet.
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Previous winners read like a who’s who of environmental heroes: Jane Goodall for her pioneering work with chimpanzees, Michael Mann for climate science that shaped global policy, and now Toby Kiers for revealing the hidden half of Earth’s story.
“Kiers’ research shows that fungal networks are not just background biology; they are active players in regulating carbon on a planetary scale,” notes Dr. Elena Rodriguez, a soil ecologist at Stanford University who has collaborated with Kiers on multiple studies.
What makes this Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement particularly significant is its timing. As the world struggles to meet climate targets, Kiers’ work suggests we’ve been missing a massive piece of the puzzle – one that could be crucial for both carbon storage and ecosystem resilience.
The Underground Internet That’s Changing Everything
Imagine a vast network more complex than the internet, operating 24/7 beneath every forest, grassland, and garden on Earth. This isn’t science fiction – it’s the mycorrhizal fungal network that Kiers has spent her career studying.
These microscopic fungal threads wrap around plant roots, forming partnerships with nearly 90% of all land plants. The deal is simple: fungi provide water and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, while plants offer sugars created through photosynthesis.
But here’s where it gets fascinating – and where Kiers’ Nobel-level insights come in. These fungal connections don’t stop at individual plants. They create massive networks connecting different species across entire ecosystems.
| Fungal Network Function | Impact on Climate | Real-World Example |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon Storage | Locks away billions of tons of CO2 in soil | Forest soils store more carbon than above-ground trees |
| Nutrient Exchange | Reduces need for chemical fertilizers | Organic farms rely on natural fungal networks |
| Plant Communication | Helps forests adapt to climate stress | Trees share resources during droughts |
| Ecosystem Stability | Maintains biodiversity under changing conditions | Grasslands resist degradation through fungal support |
“Scientists sometimes call this vast underground mesh the ‘wood wide web,’ a living infrastructure that quietly supports entire ecosystems,” explains Dr. Michael Chen, a mycologist at the University of British Columbia.
Kiers’ revolutionary approach combined traditional biology with economic theory, showing that fungi don’t just randomly distribute resources. They behave like sophisticated traders, directing nutrients where they get the best return in plant sugars.
What This Means for Your Daily Life
This Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement isn’t just about academic recognition – Kiers’ discoveries have practical implications that could affect everything from food prices to climate policy.
For farmers, understanding fungal networks could reduce dependency on expensive fertilizers. The global fertilizer market costs over $200 billion annually, much of it replacing functions that healthy soil fungi naturally provide.
For homeowners, this research explains why some gardens thrive while others struggle, even with identical care. Gardens with diverse plant species and minimal chemical treatments often develop stronger fungal networks, leading to healthier, more resilient plants.
Urban planners are already incorporating Kiers’ findings into green infrastructure projects. Cities like Portland and Amsterdam now consider soil fungal health when designing parks and tree-planting programs.
“Any serious climate plan must take soils and fungi into account,” Kiers argues, pointing out that soil contains more carbon than the atmosphere and all plant life combined.
The implications extend to climate policy too. Traditional carbon accounting focuses on trees and industrial emissions, but Kiers’ work shows that protecting and restoring soil fungal networks could be equally important for meeting climate goals.
Key areas where this research is making a difference:
- Regenerative agriculture practices that protect fungal networks
- Forest management strategies that preserve underground connections
- Urban planning that considers soil health in development projects
- Carbon offset programs that include soil ecosystem restoration
- Education programs teaching the importance of “invisible biodiversity”
The Hidden Climate Heroes Below Ground
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Kiers’ Tyler Prize-winning research is how it reveals climate solutions that have been operating all along, invisible to human eyes but essential to planetary health.
These fungal networks store an estimated 70% of forest carbon in soil, far more than what’s visible in tree trunks and leaves. When forests are cleared or soil is damaged by intensive farming, this underground carbon storage system collapses, releasing massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
“We’ve been looking up at trees for climate solutions while ignoring the vast carbon storage system beneath our feet,” notes Dr. Lisa Thompson, an environmental economist who studies the financial implications of Kiers’ research.
The timing of this Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement couldn’t be more critical. With global temperatures rising and extreme weather events becoming more frequent, understanding and protecting these underground networks offers a new avenue for climate action.
Kiers’ work also reveals how climate change affects these hidden ecosystems. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns can disrupt fungal networks, creating cascading effects throughout entire ecosystems.
But there’s hope in her findings too. Healthy fungal networks help ecosystems resist climate stress, sharing resources between plants during droughts and connecting species in ways that promote biodiversity and resilience.
The research suggests that protecting and restoring these underground networks could be one of our most powerful tools for both climate mitigation and adaptation – a discovery worthy of environmental science’s highest honor.
FAQs
What is the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement?
Often called the “Nobel of the environment,” it’s the most prestigious award in environmental science, recognizing researchers who fundamentally change how we understand and protect our planet.
Why did Toby Kiers win this award?
She revealed how underground fungal networks regulate climate and ecosystems, showing these invisible connections are crucial for carbon storage and climate stability.
How do fungal networks help with climate change?
They store massive amounts of carbon in soil, help plants share resources during climate stress, and maintain ecosystem resilience under changing conditions.
Can regular people help protect these fungal networks?
Yes, by avoiding excessive chemical fertilizers, planting diverse gardens, composting organic matter, and supporting sustainable farming practices.
What makes this different from other climate research?
Most climate science focuses on visible systems like forests and emissions, while Kiers revealed the hidden underground half of the climate story.
How does this affect future environmental policy?
It suggests soil health and fungal networks should be central to climate plans, potentially reshaping how we approach carbon storage and ecosystem protection.