Biologist Toby Kiers Wins Tyler Prize for Uncovering the Hidden Power of Fungal Networks

A world beneath our feet is shaping the planet’s future. American evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has been awarded one of the world’s most prestigious environmental honors for uncovering how underground fungal networks quietly sustain ecosystems and regulate Earth’s climate. Her work has transformed how scientists understand fungi from overlooked organisms to powerful drivers of planetary health.

Why in News?

Biologist Toby Kiers has won the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her groundbreaking research on underground fungal networks and their role in climate regulation and ecosystem stability.

What Are Mycorrhizal Fungal Networks?

• Mycorrhizal fungi form vast underground networks that connect with plant roots across forests, grasslands and farmlands.
• Through this symbiotic relationship, plants provide fungi with carbon-rich sugars and fats produced through photosynthesis.
• In return, fungi supply plants with essential nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil.
• These hidden networks operate at a massive scale, linking plants into shared systems that support growth, resilience and survival across entire ecosystems.

Role in Climate Regulation

• Kiers research revealed that mycorrhizal networks play a major role in regulating Earth’s climate.
• Collectively, these fungi draw down more than 13 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, storing carbon in soils and plant systems.
• This makes them one of the largest natural mechanisms for carbon sequestration, comparable in impact to forests and oceans.
• By highlighting this role, her work has positioned fungi as critical allies in the fight against climate change.

Changing the Scientific View of Fungi

• For decades, fungi were considered passive helpers to plants. Kiers overturned this assumption by showing that fungi act as active and strategic partners.
• Her research reframed fungal networks as a form of biological infrastructure, similar to a circulatory system that underpins life on land.
• This shift in thinking has influenced ecology, climate science and conservation biology, placing fungi at the centre of ecosystem functioning rather than the margins.

The Underground Biological Marketplace

• In a landmark 2011 study, Kiers demonstrated that fungi behave like participants in a biological marketplace.
• Experiments showed that fungi move nutrients from areas of abundance to areas of scarcity and demand better carbon rewards from plants that need nutrients most.
• Remarkably, this complex negotiation occurs without a brain or nervous system, challenging traditional ideas about intelligence and information processing in living systems.

About The Tyler Prize

The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is among the world’s top environmental awards, often called the “Nobel Prize for the environment,” recognising individuals whose work benefits humanity and nature.

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement

• Type of Award: Environmental Achievement
• Fields Covered: Environmental science, Environmental health & Energy
• Country: United States
• Presented by: University of Southern California (USC)
• Prize Money: USD 250,000
• Additional Honor: Medallion
• Popularly Known As: “Nobel Prize for the Environment”

Key Features

• Awarded annually to individuals or organizations for outstanding environmental contributions
• Recognizes achievements that have a global impact on environmental protection and sustainability
• One of the most prestigious environmental awards in the world

History of the Tyler Prize

• Established: 1973
• Founders: John and Alice Tyler
• Launched by: Ronald Reagan (then Governor of California)
• Initial Funding: USD 5 million endowment & Donated by Jack Tyler
• Originally Administered by: Pepperdine University
• Current Administrator: University of Southern California
• Key Summary at a Glance

Question

Q. Toby Kiers received the Tyler Prize for research related to,

A. Marine ecosystems
B. Mycorrhizal fungal networks
C. Polar ice dynamics
D. Renewable energy systems