Scientist wins 'Environment Nobel' for shedding light on hidden fungal networks

Yet until recently, these "mycorrhizal networks" were greatly underestimated: seen as merely helpful companions to plants rather than one of Earth's vital circulatory systems. American evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has now been awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement -- sometimes called the "Nobel for the environment" -- for her work bringing this underground world into focus. By charting the global distribution of mycorrhizal fungi in a worldwide Underground Atlas launched last year...