Why fungi are becoming key allies in climate-smart agriculture

For decades, fungi in fields were often seen mainly as a threat to crops. Today scientists are taking a very different view. Hidden in the soil is a vast fungal network that can help farmers grow food with fewer chemicals, store more carbon and cope better with droughts and heatwaves.

This shift is driving a new wave of research into how fungal partners work and how they could support more climate‑resilient farming systems in the coming decades.

Underground networks that feed plants

Many plants form intimate partnerships with fungi called mycorrhizae. The fungal threads, or hyphae, spread through the soil and act like an extended root system, reaching water and nutrients that plant roots alone cannot access.

In exchange, the plant sends sugars and fats produced by photosynthesis down to the fungi. This trade is highly efficient. In nutrient‑poor or dry soils, mycorrhizal plants can grow better and use fertilizer more effectively than plants without these partners.

Helping crops use fertilizer more efficiently

One of the most practical benefits of beneficial fungi is improved access to phosphorus and some forms of nitrogen. These nutrients often get locked onto soil particles, where roots struggle to reach them. Fungal hyphae, which are far thinner than roots, can explore tiny soil pores and dissolve bound nutrients.

Researchers testing mycorrhizal inoculants in crops like maize, wheat and soy have seen modest but consistent gains in nutrient uptake, especially in low‑input or degraded soils. In some trials, farmers could reduce phosphorus fertilizer while maintaining yields, which also lowers costs and nutrient runoff into rivers and lakes.

Fungal help during drought and heat

As heatwaves and irregular rainfall become more common, the ability of crops to handle water stress is increasingly important. Mycorrhizal fungi can boost drought tolerance in several ways. Their networks tap into water stored between soil particles and help plants maintain growth during dry spells.

Some fungi also appear to change how plants regulate stomata, the tiny pores on leaves that control water loss. While the exact mechanisms are still being studied, experiments show that inoculated plants often keep greener leaves and recover faster after drought compared with non‑inoculated controls.

Soil fungi and carbon storage

Soils hold more carbon than the atmosphere and all plant biomass combined, and fungi are central to how that carbon is stored. When plants feed sugars to mycorrhizal fungi, some of this carbon ends up as fungal cell walls and sticky compounds that help soil particles clump together.

Stable soil aggregates protect organic matter from rapid breakdown. Certain mycorrhizal groups produce tough molecules that can persist in soil for years. Farming practices that support diverse fungal communities, such as reduced tillage and cover crops, are linked with higher soil organic carbon and better soil structure.

From wild fungi to commercial products

The idea of “fungal fertilizers” is not new, but recent advances in microbiology and genomics are making it easier to identify which fungal strains work best with specific crops and soils. Commercial mycorrhizal products now range from coated seeds to powders and granules that can be mixed into soil or irrigation water.

Not all products perform equally well in real fields, where native microbes and local climate play a big role. Ongoing long‑term trials are trying to separate marketing claims from measurable benefits, and to understand when inoculation is most likely to pay off, for example in new orchards or highly disturbed soils.

Managing farms to favor beneficial fungi

Many researchers argue that the most powerful way to harness fungi is not by adding them as products, but by managing land so that native beneficial fungi thrive. Frequent deep tillage, bare fallows and heavy fertilizer doses can all reduce mycorrhizal abundance and diversity.

By contrast, practices such as leaving crop residues, using cover crops, minimizing soil disturbance and diversifying crop rotations tend to support richer fungal communities. Farmers adopting these methods often report gradual improvements in soil crumb structure, infiltration and resilience to erosion.

Limits, risks and open questions

Despite the promise, fungi are not a cure‑all for agriculture. Severe nutrient deficiencies, salinity, extreme temperatures or waterlogging can overwhelm the benefits of mycorrhizae. Some fungi are also plant pathogens, and it is important to distinguish helpful partners from harmful species when changing soil management.

Scientists are still debating how much additional carbon can realistically be stored through fungal‑friendly farming and for how long it will remain in the soil under different climates. There are also questions about how future warming might shift the balance between beneficial and disease‑causing fungi.

Why fungi matter for everyday food security

As global demand for food grows and pressure to cut emissions increases, improving the efficiency and resilience of farmland is a major challenge. Fungi offer tools to get more from each unit of fertilizer, to buffer crops during climate extremes and to build healthier soils over time.

For consumers, these changes are largely invisible. Yet the invisible networks beneath fields and orchards could help stabilize yields, reduce pollution and support food production on land already under cultivation, instead of pushing agriculture into new natural areas. In that sense, the future of climate‑smart farming may be as much about biology under our feet as machinery on the surface.