Fungi keep many plants and animals on Earth alive. But deforestation – cutting down trees and destroying forests – farming and fires are threatening to make fungi disappear, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned.
At least 411 types of fungi face extinction, according to the IUCN.
“Fungi are the unsung heroes of life on Earth, forming the foundation of healthy ecosystems. But they have been overlooked,” IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar said.
Human activity has put pressure on fungi, which are neither plant nor animal.
Fungi mostly live hidden underground and inside wood, but life above ground depends on them, said Professor Anders Dahlberg, who helped put together IUCN’s list of threatened species.
