Fungi Vital to Life Face Growing Risk of Demise

Reuters

13:49 JST, April 13, 2025

GENEVA (Reuters) — Nearly a third of species of fungi assessed by an international conservation group are at risk of extinction from threats like deforestation and agricultural expansion, the latest Red List of threatened species showed on March 27.

Fungi — which comprise a scientific kingdom second only in size to the animal kingdom — play a critical role in a range of functions from decomposition, to mammalian digestion to forest regeneration. For human beings, they also play an important role in making several powerful medicines, including antibiotics, as well as bread and beer.

Yet, the role of these yeasts, molds and mushrooms that underpin life on Earth has been “overlooked and under-appreciated,” said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is trying to correct that.

In its latest Red List which categorizes species according to the risks they face, the group said that nearly a third, or 411 of the 1,300 species of fungi it assessed, are at risk of extinction.