Mycorrhizal Carbon:
The Foundation of
a Durable Carbon Sink

Mycorrhizal fungi not only sequester carbon in soil. They embed it in the soil’s geology within durable compounds that remain stable for millennia.

Today, 13.12 GtCO2e are sequestered annually in forests and other natural lands. Agricultural soils similarly have the capacity to sequester up to 8 GtCO2e annually.

However, the rise of modern agriculture, with intensive tillage and chemical overuse, has violated soil microbial ecosystems, releasing 785 GtCO2e into the atmosphere over the decades.

Our mission is to restore cropland’s
capacity to sequester carbon and
realize soil’s full potential as a
durable carbon sink.

How Does Mycorrhizal Carbon
Deliver High Durability

Photosynthesis

Mycorrhizal plants allocate up to 20% of their photosynthate to mycorrhizae. This means that up to 20% of photosynthesized carbon becomes Mycorrhizal Carbon.

Carbon
Contribution:

Up to 60% of plant-derived Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is attributed to mycorrhizae.

60% of plant derived SOC Mycorrhizal Carbon

Durable Sequestration:

Mycorrhizae facilitate the rapid formation of Mineral-Associated Organic Carbon (MAOC), the most stable form of soil carbon, which makes up to 66–87% of SOC and remains durable for millennia.

SOC is comprised of two main stable forms:

Particulate Organic Carbon (POC):
durability for decades

Mineral-Associated Organic Carbon (MAOC): durability for millennia

MAOC forms when Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) binds to exposed mineral surfaces, particularly clay, with strong covalent bonds.

Mycorrhizae support and accelerate this process. Under the right conditions – high DOC concentration, sufficient nitrogen availability, clay surface area and the presence of mycorrhizal fungi – MAOC formation can occur within months. In cropland soils, mycorrhizal fungi facilitate sequestration of up to 2.85–4.93 tCO₂e per acre per year, most of it in the form of MAOC.

While plants photosynthesize carbon from the atmosphere, mycorrhizae lock it in the soil for the long-term putting the 2nd largest carbon sink in the world under our feet.

The Bottom Line
Mycorrhizal Carbon Delivers Durable
CDR at Scale

60%

of Soil Carbon
Lost

Today, most croplands have become net carbon emitters, having lost an estimated 60% of their optimal SOC due to industrial agricultural practices

Main Pathway
to Bring It Back

Because mycorrhizae are carbon’s main pathway into the soil, Mycorrhizal Carbon is the most cost-effective, scalable, high-integrity solution for durable CDR today.

At scale, the climate impact is significant:
1 million acres of mycorrhizal cropland can sequester megatons of

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Mycorrhizal Carbon: The Foundation of a Durable Carbon Sink

How Does Mycorrhizal Carbon Deliver High Durability