Funga leverages high-tech AI tools and an understanding the hidden world of the soil microbiome to enhance carbon sequestration in commercial forests.
, a leading institution for environmental research and the alma mater of none other than Albert Einstein.
When discussing cultural differences between academe and industry, he expressed an idea that I had heard from other academics as well: the academic world is a terrific place to explore new ideas, but is not the ideal environment to try to scale these ideas into world-changing movements. Recognizing the desperate need for large-scale, easily implementable solutions to the dual crises of climate and biodiversity loss, he felt called to start Funga.
“A water main running underground / A sewage pipe under a skyscraper / The most important things do not appear on the surface.” In other words, the forests we cannot see—the forests of microscopic fungi, bacteria and the like, which live within the soil of the forests we can see—end up doing a lot of the heavy lifting of atmospheric carbon sequestration.
In addition to drought tolerance, Averill tells me that there is evidence that mycorrhizal networks and a biodiverse soil microbiome can help plants resist infestations of aboveground pests. In other words, as our climate grows inexorably warmer and as, one of the best lines of defense for our forests exists in the form of a robust, healthy soil microbiome.
In addition to being able to come up with a novel product as Averill has, the mark of a good entrepreneur is someone who picks the fattest pitches to swing at. Averill has picked a very fat pitch with which to launch his venture. The team has developed machine learning algorithms to help sort through a myriad of soil and tree species and ecosystems to select whole communities of soil microorganisms that will be most likely to provide a carbon sequestration boost in the trees his clients are growing.
Because Funga is working with managed forests and providing clear quantitative proof of additional “woody biomass” grown after inoculation, Averill says that the credits he is selling are considered by big, important buyers as being very high-quality ones so the recent bad press related to poor quality Nature Based Solution carbon projects have served as a huge tailwind for his business.
In other words, to the extent that wood can be grown and harvested sustainably, it provides a fairly permanent carbon sink if used as long-term building material and also cuts carbon emissions through lowered demand for high-carbon footprint steel and concrete. How will Funga get enough spores of the right sort to transplant to the plantations? Will Funga create “greenhouses” of mycorrhizal fungi they will use, or will they be digging up soil from healthy forests and transplanting it directly? If the latter, how can Funga take enough mycorrhizae to inoculate the commercial forest without damaging the host ecosystem?
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Telesat taps SpaceX to launch its broadband satellites in orbitCanada's Telesat on Monday said it has signed a agreement with SpaceX to launch its low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation called Lightspeed starting in 2026, with the aim of providing global broadband service from space in late 2027.
Read more »
Celsius successor taps former Algorand, WeWork and UBS execs for new boardFormer Algorand CEO Steve Kokinos has been named as the prospective CEO of the company succeeding Celsius' operations.
Read more »
Epic Games taps former MCU character designer as new creative executiveThis guy’s got seriously cool design chops.
Read more »
Macy's-owned Bloomingdale's taps international exec Olivier Bron as its next CEOWith the move, the legacy retailer Macy's is adding an outside perspective and a dash of global flair to its upscale department store, Bloomingdale's.
Read more »
‘Behind the Glass’ Taps Los Angeles Kings for NHL DocuseriesNHL Network viewers will get an all-access, three-part look at the team in training camp and in the league's first games played in Australia.
Read more »
Old Town Pour House celebrates the start of Oktoberfest with kickoff partyGather your friends, dust off your lederhosen and dirndls and come kick off the beginning of Oktoberfest on Friday at Old Town Pour House.
Read more »