Millions of trees could grow faster with a boost from wild fungi

A million trees and counting have been inoculated with native fungi by a US start-up aiming to make the trees grow faster and store more carbon. Outside researchers say this could be effective, but they have concerns about disturbing microbial diversity in soil.

“On the scale they’re talking about, that’s a crapload of soil,” says Miranda Hart at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

The forestry industry has long experimented with ways to improve growth…