Mushrooms have long been treated as a culinary curiosity or a forest-floor oddity, but scientists now argue they belong at the center of how we grow food and stabilize the climate. By deliberately planting fungi alongside trees and crops, researchers say we can unlock a rare combination of benefits that touch nutrition, carbon storage, soil health and even rural livelihoods all at once.
Instead of choosing between feeding people and protecting the planet, the emerging science of mushroom-based forestry suggests we can do both with the same living system. I see this shift not as a niche gardening trend, but as a structural rethink of how we use land, with fungi acting as the quiet infrastructure that makes forests more productive, more resilient and more climate friendly.
The quiet revolution of mycoforestry
The idea that mushrooms could reshape global land use starts with a deceptively simple practice: pairing edible fungi with living trees. In this approach, often called mycoforestry, farmers and foresters intentionally cultivate mushrooms in symbiosis with roots, turning what used to be a single-purpose plantation into a multi-layered food and carbon system. Instead of clearing forests to plant crops, the trees stay in place, the fungi weave through the soil and the land begins to produce both timber and high-value food.
Researchers working in this space describe a future in which forests are not just carbon sinks, but also reliable protein sources that can help feed millions of people. In one influential analysis, Professor Thomas and colleagues examined how growing edible mushrooms alongside trees could simultaneously expand food supplies and lock more carbon into the ground, a concept they framed as part of a broader mycoforestry strategy that connects living roots, fungal networks and long-term soil storage. Their work, shared by the University of Stirling, argues that these fungal partnerships can be scaled across large areas of land to support both nutrition and climate goals, a vision detailed in research on growing edible mushrooms alongside trees.
How fungi feed people without clearing more land
One of the most striking claims from scientists studying forest fungi is that mushrooms can expand the global food supply without demanding new farmland. Because many edible species thrive in the shade of existing trees, they can be layered into orchards, woodlots and commercial forests that are already in place. That means more calories and more protein from the same hectare, rather than the usual pattern of cutting down trees to plant crops or pasture.
In the work led by Professor Thomas, the team modeled how much food could be produced if mycoforestry were adopted across suitable forested regions. Their conclusion was that integrating mushrooms with trees could provide a meaningful share of dietary protein for millions of people while leaving the overstory intact, a result that reframes forests as active food systems rather than protected museum pieces. A separate synthesis on cultivating mushrooms by trees highlighted how this approach could help address food insecurity in regions where expanding cropland would otherwise come at the expense of biodiversity and carbon-rich habitats.
The carbon math behind “tasty” climate solutions
Food systems are responsible for a large share of global greenhouse gas emissions, so any new protein source has to be judged not just on yield, but on its carbon footprint. Edible fungi have a built-in advantage: they can be grown on low-value biomass, they do not require the methane-producing digestive systems of cattle or sheep, and they can be harvested without disturbing the trees that help stabilize the climate. When mushrooms are cultivated as part of a forest, the result is a kind of carbon stacking, where the same land supports both long-lived wood and short-lived food.
Scientists exploring this idea have gone further, arguing that some mushroom systems can be close to carbon neutral when managed carefully. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one group described how pairing edible fungi with tree plantations could sequester substantial amounts of carbon in soils and woody biomass while producing a marketable crop, effectively turning forests into dual-purpose carbon and food assets. Their analysis, summarized in a discussion of carbon-neutral edible fungus, framed mushrooms as a way to reconcile the need for protein with the imperative to keep more carbon underground and in living trees.
Inside the fungal partnership with trees
The power of mushroom-based forestry rests on a biological alliance that predates agriculture by hundreds of millions of years. Fungi form intricate relationships with tree roots, trading nutrients and water for sugars produced through photosynthesis. These mycorrhizal networks extend the effective reach of roots, allowing trees to tap into pockets of phosphorus, nitrogen and moisture that would otherwise be out of reach, while the fungi gain a steady energy supply.
Scientists who study forest ecology emphasize that this partnership does more than keep individual trees healthy. The fungal threads help bind soil particles, improve structure and create microscopic channels that move air and water through the ground. Reporting on how fungi support forest ecosystems has highlighted how these underground networks influence the health of entire landscapes, shaping how carbon moves through soils and how resilient forests are to drought, pests and other stresses linked to climate change.
Why scientists say mushrooms are a climate tool, not a garnish
For years, climate policy has focused on smokestacks, tailpipes and renewable energy, while the role of fungi stayed largely out of view. That is starting to change as researchers quantify how much carbon is stored in soils and how strongly fungal communities influence that storage. When mushrooms are cultivated as part of a managed forest, they are not just an extra crop, they are part of the machinery that determines how much carbon stays locked away and how much leaks back into the atmosphere.
Experts who track land-based climate solutions argue that ignoring fungi means underestimating the potential of forests to help stabilize the climate. By enhancing the fungal partnership with trees, they say, land managers can increase the amount of carbon that ends up in long-lived soil compounds and woody tissue, while also generating food and income. The emerging consensus from work like the University of Stirling analysis and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study is that mushrooms should be treated as a strategic climate tool, integrated into forest planning and agricultural policy rather than left as an afterthought on the dinner plate.
From theory to practice: what mycoforestry looks like on the ground
Turning the science of mycoforestry into real-world practice starts with choosing the right fungal species for the right trees and climates. In temperate regions, that might mean pairing oaks or pines with prized mushrooms that already form natural associations, then managing the forest floor to encourage fruiting. In other settings, farmers might inoculate tree roots with selected fungi, adjust shade and moisture levels, and time harvests to align with local markets, effectively layering a mushroom enterprise onto existing forestry operations.
Researchers who model these systems describe a range of practical setups, from smallholder plots where families harvest mushrooms for local sale, to larger commercial forests that integrate fungi as a secondary product line. The analysis shared by Professor Thomas suggests that, with careful design, these systems can be scaled across landscapes without undermining the primary role of trees in carbon storage and habitat protection. Complementary reporting on cultivating mushrooms by trees underscores that success depends on training, access to spawn and supportive policies that recognize mushrooms as a legitimate agricultural output rather than a marginal sideline.
Food security, rural income and the social side of fungi
The universal benefit scientists describe is not only ecological, it is social. In many rural regions, households face a difficult trade-off between clearing land for crops and preserving forests that provide water, fuel and cultural value. Mycoforestry offers a way to earn income and secure food while keeping tree cover intact, which can be especially important where land rights are fragile and climate shocks are already eroding livelihoods.
Studies that examine mushroom-based forestry highlight several overlapping gains: new revenue streams from high-value edible fungi, improved dietary diversity thanks to protein-rich harvests, and reduced pressure to convert forests into fields or pasture. The work by Professor Thomas and the broader literature on carbon-neutral edible fungus both point to mushrooms as a bridge between conservation and development, giving communities a tangible reason to maintain forested land while participating in emerging carbon and specialty food markets.
The limits and unanswered questions
For all the promise, scientists are clear that mushroom-centered forestry is not a silver bullet. The success of these systems depends on local ecology, market access and governance, and there are still open questions about how they perform over decades under real-world pressures. Not every forest is suitable for intensive mushroom cultivation, and not every community will have the resources to invest in spawn, training and infrastructure without outside support.
Researchers also caution that scaling up mycoforestry must be done carefully to avoid unintended consequences, such as introducing non-native fungi that could disrupt existing ecosystems or overharvesting that damages soil structure. The studies in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the University of Stirling analysis both frame mushrooms as a powerful complement to, not a replacement for, other climate and food strategies. The universal benefit they describe depends on integrating fungi into broader land-use planning, respecting local knowledge and monitoring outcomes over time rather than assuming that any mushroom is automatically a climate hero.
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