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SUMMARY:Decoding Fungal Trade Algorithms for Carbon Drawdown - Toby Kiers\
 , SPUN\, Vrije Universiteit\, Amsterdam
DTSTART:20250131T130000Z
DTEND:20250131T135500Z
UID:TALK224125@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:114742
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\n\nMycorrhizal fungi form complex living networks t
 hat connect plants. These fungal networks supply nutrients to the Earth’
 s plant communities in exchange for plant carbon. As a result\, mycorrhiza
 l fungi draw down ~13 billion tons of CO2 per year into the soil annually\
 , equivalent to ~1/3 of global anthropogenic energy-related emissions. We 
 have developed an imaging robot that allows us to now study the dynamics o
 f nutrient flows through mycorrhizal networks. Our past work has shown tha
 t fungi control carbon and nutrient flow with surprising precision\, allow
 ing them to resolve complex supply-chain trade-offs. These trade algorithm
 s have been shaped by natural selection for hundreds of millions of years.
  A better understanding of these design principles can help us develop eff
 ective ecological interventions that rely on fungi to draw more carbon bel
 ow ground. \n\n*Bio*\n\nDr. Toby Kiers is a Professor of Evolutionary Bio
 logy at the VU in Amsterdam\, where her lab studies the flows of carbon an
 d nutrients inside fungal networks. She is the co-founder\,\nExecutive Dir
 ector\, and Chief Scientist of the Society for the Protection of Undergrou
 nd Networks (SPUN). Kiers was named by TIME100 as an emerging leader for h
 er work decoding fungal trade patterns\, and an Explorer 50 for her work i
 n mapping underground fungal systems across the Earth. She is the youngest
  scientist to ever win the SPINOZA prize – known as the ‘Dutch Nobel P
 rize’. Kiers won the E.O. Wilson Award for Natural History\, and the Sta
 irway to Impact Award recognizing researchers creating societal impact wit
 h their scientific results. Kiers was named by the UNas one of the 22 scie
 ntists making a difference in biodiversity research\, and an ‘Innovator 
 to Watch’ by Smithsonian Magazine.
LOCATION:FW11\, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zo
 om.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&amp\;from=addon 
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