Scientists Rally to Protect Earth’s Hidden Fungi Kingdom Before It’s Too Late

Researchers and citizen scientists are working to document and protect the world's estimated 2.5 million fungi species, which contribute $54 trillion to the global economy but remain largely overlooked by conservation efforts. Despite their critical role in ecosystems, only about 155,000 species have been documented, with many facing threats from climate change and habitat loss.

ANGWIN, Calif. — Walking through a carpet of dried leaves beneath Manzanita trees, fungi researcher Jessica Allen searched for an elusive treasure: the Manzanita butter clump, a scarce golden mushroom discovered only on North America’s western shores.

The unusual specimen hadn’t been documented in California’s Napa County for two years, and Allen, who studies fungi professionally, hoped to locate it again. However, her attention quickly shifted when she dropped to her knees and examined a nearby boulder through her magnifying lens, discovering lichens — a fungi variety — displaying brilliant patterns, surfaces and hues.

“It’s so easy to get distracted, but there’s so many lichen!” she said excitedly.

“That was a good rock,” said ecologist Jesse Miller, president of the California Lichen Society.

“Ok, let’s go find some mushrooms,” she exclaimed.

Both Allen and Miller find themselves captivated by what they call the remarkable and mysterious realm of fungi, joining a expanding network of individuals dedicated to safeguarding these organisms. Virtually every living thing relies on Earth’s approximately 2.5 million fungal species, which generate roughly $54 trillion for the worldwide economy through food production, medical applications and other uses, research published in Springer Nature shows. Yet despite their vital function, conservation programs have mostly ignored them while they encounter growing dangers from contamination, ecosystem destruction and changing climate patterns. This situation has started shifting over the past ten years, thanks partly to volunteer researchers and improved knowledge of fungal variety.

“It’s a pretty exciting time in fungal conservation,” said Allen, mycologist for NatureServe, a hub for biodiversity data throughout North America. In that role, Allen is helping accelerate and support fungal conservation in the U.S. and Canada.

These organisms exist outside the plant and animal categories, forming a massive biological kingdom encompassing yeasts (crucial for baking bread, making cheese and producing alcohol), molds (the fuzzy growth on old produce), lichens (a partnership between fungi and algae or cyanobacteria) and mushrooms (spanning from nutritious varieties to mind-altering to lethal types). They serve as Earth’s primary connectors and breakdown specialists. Woodlands depend on them, while numerous creatures use them for sustenance and shelter.

Humans have developed medications like penicillin from these organisms. Some serve as construction materials or can capture heat-trapping carbon. However, researchers have only catalogued approximately 155,000 varieties, representing just 6% of the millions they estimate exist.

Effective protection begins with identifying existing species, their locations, population health and potential dangers, requiring fieldwork. This enables conservationists to evaluate at-risk species and allocate resources appropriately.

Organizations such as the California Lichen Society fill this crucial role.

“They tend to be the people that often make the most important discoveries, and they’re the ones who are going to be keeping an eye on those rare species over time,” said Allen.

During a recent cold morning, numerous lichen experts and enthusiastic amateurs spread across a nature preserve to examine rocks and tree bark closely. These yearly expeditions combine treasure hunting, scientific data gathering and nature walks, though participants typically cover little ground.

Each powdery, leaf-like and branching lichen opened a window into a tiny universe filled with exclamations of amazement and wonder. Chemist Larry Cool observed: “Lichenologists make terrible hiking partners” because they keep stopping.

Cool’s fascination with lichens began 53 years ago when he discovered their use as natural coloring agents. “Lichen are more than the sum of its parts and are mysteriously unpredictable,” he said. “I get a lot of pleasure seeing the incredible variety of creation.”

Ken Kellman also studies lichens as a hobby, though his extensive expertise suggests otherwise. The former heating and air conditioning technician has devoted roughly a decade to learning about them independently and from colleagues. His passion has helped researchers uncover biological diversity in his Santa Cruz, California community.

“It just keeps your brain in that place where you’re saying ‘Wow!’ all the time. ‘That’s cool!’ And that’s my favorite place for my brain to be,” he said.

Gregory Mueller has dedicated much of his professional life to fungi protection. Serving as co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s fungal conservation committee, he oversees all fungal protection activities throughout their worldwide network.

The organization’s Red List of Threatened Species shows 411 of 1,300 assessed fungi globally face extinction risk. European regions and other areas have concentrated on fungal conservation for decades, but the U.S. “is still far behind,” Mueller said. Just two fungal species — both lichens — receive federal Endangered Species Act protection, while certain states like California provide legal safeguards and others like New Jersey include them in conservation strategies.

This situation is gradually improving, partly due to growing community science programs domestically and internationally.

“There’s a lot of amateur mycologists … documenting (fungi) with photographs, putting their images on iNaturalist and our Mushroom Observer, and we’ve been able to use those data to better document fungal diversity,” he said. We’re “starting to get some idea of what species might be in trouble.”

Most fungi remain invisible, living primarily as extensive, thread-like networks called mycelium underground and creating mushrooms — known as fruiting bodies — only under perfect conditions.

This explains much of our limited knowledge about them, according to Nora Dunkirk, a plant and fungi specialist at Portland State University’s Institute for Natural Resources who works to record vulnerable plant and fungal species for conservation purposes.

Climate change poses one of their greatest challenges. Altered precipitation patterns, rising temperatures and intensifying wildfires can eliminate them or disrupt delicate forest-fungi relationships. Extended flooding periods can deprive them of necessary oxygen. Tree harvesting, urban development, invasive insects and contamination also endanger species.

Excessive collection presents another problem. The large, long-lived quinine conk, for instance, has appeared on Europe’s endangered mushroom list since the 1980s partly because people have gathered too many for their healing qualities.

“This is an organism that grows on larches all across Europe, and so people see this as a valuable resource and they use it,” said Dunkirk. “But this species specifically has been harvested to its detriment.”

America’s most famous conservation effort indirectly involving fungi occurred during the 1990s. When the Northern spotted owl faced extinction, authorities recognized that saving the bird required managing entire old-growth forest ecosystems — including fungi.

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan established federal regulations protecting roughly 400 rare and poorly understood species across three states.

Meanwhile in California, Allen and her fellow fungi enthusiasts continued searching for the elusive Manzanita butter clump. They explored steep hillsides and creek areas, carefully examining the ground around their feet.

They never located it.

Such outcomes are typical when hunting for something as fleeting and unpredictable as mushrooms.

“How many of my days have ended this way? So many,” said Allen. “It was still a great day.”