The article emphasizes the sophisticated exchange system between plants and mycorrhizal fungi, where plants provide carbon-based nutrients in return for essential minerals like phosphorus and nitrogen. This relationship functions similarly to human market systems and plays a pivotal role in carbon cycling.

Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist and recipient of the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2026, reveals that laboratory experiments have uncovered the advanced trading strategies that fungi have developed with plants. This partnership is not only vital for plant health and growth but also significantly impacts the environment by transferring approximately 13 billion tons of CO₂ from plants into mycorrhizal networks each year, which is equivalent to a third of global fossil fuel emissions.

Currently a professor at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Kiers is mapping the world's major mycorrhizal mushroom centres. Her research highlights the need for better protection of these fungi, which are essential in mitigating climate change and providing benefits to human society through improved soil quality and carbon sequestration.