Fungi for the Future: How Mycorrhizal Applications Could Support Land Remediation at Catchment Scale
At MycoBiome, we’ve long focused on how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can accelerate soil regeneration and improve crop resilience in agricultural settings. But as challenges in land management grow beyond productivity alone, we’re increasingly asking: how can these beneficial fungi help clean up our landscapes, too?
Why Remediation Matters — and Why Now
Land contamination from persistent chemicals like PFOS and PFAS (collectively known as "forever chemicals") and microplastics is becoming a growing concern in environmental management. These substances accumulate over time, resist natural breakdown, and have been found throughout agricultural supply chains — from soil and water to food and livestock. Their presence not only threatens biodiversity and food security, but also places pressure on farmers and landowners to find long-term solutions.
Catchment-wide strategies are now being explored to address pollution at landscape scale — especially in the context of climate resilience, water quality, and sustainable food systems. But remediation is no small task. It requires scalable, low-impact interventions that work with natural systems, not against them.
Could Fungi Be Part of the Solution?
Recent research into the remediation potential of fungi is showing promise. Fungi are remarkable biological engineers, capable of:
Breaking down complex pollutants, including hydrocarbons and certain plastics,
Immobilising or extracting heavy metals and toxins through their hyphal networks, and
Enhancing plant uptake and resilience in degraded or contaminated soils.
While much of the work to date has focused on saprophytic fungi (like oyster mushrooms), there's emerging interest in how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi—already known for their role in nutrient cycling—might influence contaminant behaviour in soil through rhizosphere dynamics and symbiotic signalling.
A New Direction for MycoBiome
At MycoBiome, we believe fungi hold vast untapped potential—not only for soil regeneration, but also for ecological remediation at catchment scale. That’s why we’re actively exploring how our existing AMF-based applications might be adapted for use in future land quality initiatives, particularly in areas impacted by persistent chemicals and microplastic residues.
As the science evolves, we aim to collaborate with researchers, landowners, and catchment managers to build an evidence base and develop practical field-scale solutions.
This work is still in its early days—but the signals are strong. Fungi have adapted to extreme environments for millions of years. It’s time we looked to them not only as partners in productivity, but as allies in repairing the land.
Interested in collaborating?
We’re currently looking to connect with research groups and practitioners working in soil remediation and water quality. Get in touch if you're exploring similar questions—we’d love to hear from you.
