Using Fungi to Increase Carbon Capture from Trees
Funded through Round 9: Biological GHG Management in 2015, the Mikro-Tek ERA project tested the use of fungi to enhance plant growth and carbon sequestration in Alberta’s forestry and agricultural sectors. While the technology showed limited impact in agriculture, it significantly improved tree survival and biomass in forestry trials, indicating strong potential for low-cost, large-scale greenhouse gas reductions through enhanced reforestation.
Approximately 100 million seedlings are planted annually on Crown land in Alberta under 20 different forest management agreements. By adopting new and enhanced forest management methods, it is possible to increase the productivity and carbon uptake of Alberta’s forests. Mikro-Tek’s technology uses naturally occurring fungi called mycorrhizal fungi, which form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to enhance growth and carbon sequestration. When applied to seedlings before planting, they trigger the formation of larger, healthier root systems, enabling tree seedlings and plants to absorb additional nutrients and moisture from the soil. In exchange, the fungi receive carbohydrates from the plant, creating a mutually beneficial cycle that boosts plant health. The result of this relationship is increased plant growth and survival, a reduction in the need for chemical fertilizers, and ultimately, more carbon sequestered from the atmosphere. What sets this approach apart is its biological and regenerative nature, which requires no synthetic chemicals and can be applied at a large scale with low cost. Unlike conventional replanting methods, it accelerates carbon uptake and enhances forest productivity without altering land use or requiring major infrastructure, making it a cost-effective and scalable climate solution.
Using the Power of Fungi to Enhance Plant Growth
The Mikro-Tek project revealed valuable lessons about the application of mycorrhizal fungi in Alberta’s forestry and agricultural sectors. In the forestry trials, one of the main challenges was the slow growth rate of boreal trees, which delays measurable carbon credit generation and creates a need for upfront financing solutions. Despite this, the technology consistently increased seedling survival and biomass growth, confirming its effectiveness for enhancing carbon sequestration in boreal forests. These positive results demonstrated the importance of matching fungal strains to specific tree species and environmental conditions and highlighted the viability of large-scale deployment using existing nursery infrastructure. However, the agricultural trials were less successful; inconsistent results and external factors such as weather variability and existing soil nutrient levels limited the effectiveness of mycorrhizal treatments on crop yields. This showed that agricultural applications are highly site-dependent and less predictable than forestry use, ultimately leading the team to recommend focusing future efforts solely on forestry. An analysis of the technology’s potential in Alberta revealed that if it were deployed at 50 per cent of the reforestation sites in the province, it would capture approximately 1.5 megatonnes of CO2.
What’s next?
Since the project’s completion in 2018, Mikro-Tek’s technology has been actively deployed in large-scale forestry projects across Canada and Chile, with over 29 million seedlings planted in the Canadian boreal forest with the mycorrhizal fungi. The company continues to produce its fungi at its facility in Timmins, Ontario, supplying products like MIKRO-CONE for conifers and MIKRO-VAM for broadleaf trees. To commercially implement Mikro-Tek’s forest management technology on reforestation sites in Alberta, several key steps are required. First, the Alberta Offset System must approve a project plan that outlines the proposed technology, carbon sequestration modelling, and monitoring procedures. Next, project participants, such as forestry companies, First Nations groups, or private landowners, need to be identified and engaged. Finally, formal agreements must be secured with relevant provincial agencies to authorize projects on Crown land and clarify the ownership of the resulting carbon offsets.