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Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had never appeared before a congressional panel asking for money to run his department until Tuesday morning.
And even though cabinet secretaries routinely make their budget requests to Congress, it appears that Blanche apparently didn’t even need to ask lawmakers for the most-controversial batch of federal funds in years.
It was already approved. Somehow.
Blanche’s Justice Department announced the creation of a billion compensation fund to pay people who Republicans say are victims of government weaponization. Who gets the money isn’t clear. And what’s murkier still is how the stash of cash came about.
APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT
President Donald Trump speaks during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. (Ryan Murphy/AP)
In short, President Donald Trump sued his own IRS for leaking his tax returns – along with the filings of several hundred other Americans. Then, Blanche’s own Department of Justice announced that the president essentially settled with himself.
«Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax,» read the DoJ statement.
The fund is worth $1.776 billion. Get it? 1776.
REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2026. He discussed the department’s anti-fraud efforts and announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
So while the president couldn’t receive money from this fund, his political allies and donors could.
All without congressional input.
«I realize it’s a lot of money,» said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. «I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.»
DAVID MARCUS: HE BARELY SURVIVED BIDEN LAWFARE, AND NOW HE DESERVES TO GET PAID
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., has argued a third budget reconciliation package is unlikely to materialize this year, adding the forthcoming immigration enforcement-focused bill is the «last train leaving the station» ahead of November’s midterm elections. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«What I want to know is how the fund is created and what its purpose is,» said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
«And (I want to know) the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn’t had anything to say about.»
The government swept up the phone information of multiple Republican lawmakers after the January 6 riot as part of Operation Arctic Frost. That included the records of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. He defended the fund.
‘COMPLETE FAILURE’: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS THREATENS CAPITOL HILL AS TRUMP PLANS POLICY OVERHAUL
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is seen inside the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 4, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)
«What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace,» said Hagerty.
Blanche formerly served as President Trump’s personal legal counsel. Lawmakers argued that Blanche reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund out of the ether.
«Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president’s personal attorney. And that’s the whole problem,» said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Sen. Chris Van Hollen questions U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during a subcommittee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
«You’re a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you’re the president’s consigliere,» piled on Sen. Jack Reed D-R.I.
Lawmakers questioned who qualifies for compensation.
«Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?» asked Van Hollen.
DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN
«Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization,» replied Blanche.
And that’s what concerned bipartisan lawmakers. The compensation conundrum instantly spilled over into a major bill, due to the hit the Senate floor.
Congressional Republicans were trying to pass a bill to finally address funding for ICE and Border Patrol, once and for all. But they planned to bypass a Democratic filibuster using a special process called budget reconciliation.
SENATE GOP LAUNCHES ALL-NIGHT VOTE-A-RAMA TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL THROUGH END OF TRUMP’S TERM
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents patrol seen patrolling an airport. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
The good thing about reconciliation is that you can pass a bill with 51 yeas and don’t need to clear the filibuster with 60 votes. The bad thing is that the reconciliation process entails what the Senate refers to as a «vote-a-rama.» This is where senators can offer practically any amendment on any subject in a drawn-out process which might consume an entire calendar day.
Republicans freaked out that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the compensation fund. And frankly, many Republicans intended to author their own amendments to curb the fund – simultaneously inoculating themselves from blowback.
That political brew was too much for Senate Republicans.
DEMOCRATS’ LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., spoke to reporters after the Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
They summoned Blanche to Capitol Hill Thursday morning to explain the fund. The meeting didn’t go well. Fox is told that Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., were pointed in their comments to Blanche. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., popped into the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor en route to the meeting. Tillis was in mid-conversation. All anyone could hear Tillis say was «And I’m not voting for it!» as he walked by.
By early afternoon, Republican leaders scrapped the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent everyone home for Memorial Day. It was the biggest legislative rebuke of President Trump’s second term.
«I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work,» said Kennedy. «I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no.»
SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS
Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate GOP leaders are pushing forward with budget reconciliation to fund the final piece of government that had been shut down by Senate Democrats’ opposition to President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu)
Yet Republicans were practically on the verge of finally ending the ICE and Border Patrol funding impasse.
«The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security,» said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The debate over funding for the president’s ballroom wasn’t exactly the foxtrot for Senate Republicans. But the compensation fund converted the reconciliation process into the samba.
CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., listens during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing for Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Feb. 13, 2025. (Bill Clark/Unknown)
No fancy footwork here. Republicans managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
«There are a lot of questions about it. I have Republican colleagues who have concerns about who can receive funding from that fund,» said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
However Banks noted that «every single Republican who was on the ballot like I was in the ‘24 cycle talked about stopping the weaponization of government.»
HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AS REPUBLICANS TURN ON EACH OTHER HEADING INTO YEAR’S END
Sen.-elect Peter Welch, D-Vt., walks through the hallways of the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Democrats watched as Republicans blanched at what Blanche told them.
«I think my Republican colleagues have reached their limit,» said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
Thune said the compensation fund «makes everything way harder than it should be.» He declared that the White House should should have «consulted» with Congressional Republicans about the fund ahead of time. So deadlocked, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed everyone until early June.
OUT OF POWER: DEMOCRATS DISORIENTED IN FIGHT AGAINST TRUMP AGENDA
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is mounting a longshot bid to retake Senate control during November’s midterm elections. (Kylie Cooper-Pool/Getty Images)
«Republicans are so divided, so dysfunctional, so disorganized, that they are fleeing Washington. Their majority can’t melt down fast enough,» said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
However, some of the President’s allies defended the compensation fund.
«I feel comfortable that whose who have been wronged by their government should have some sort of redress,» said Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo.
And even though the president recently steamrolled some GOP foes politically, Republicans blocked him legislatively.
«We should have full review of what we’re funding,» said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. «Congress has our obligation.»
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So President Trump may get the personnel he wants in Congress next year as Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., go by the wayside. But securing the policies may need to wait until the president’s preferred candidates are in place in 2027.
That’s why some lawmakers are questioning whether Congress can move any more meaningful legislation the rest of this year. Everything else from here on will be «way harder than it should be.»
congress, homeland security, attorney general, republicans, senate elections
INTERNACIONAL
“Nos lleva el viento a lo hondo”: El último mensaje de cuatro pescadores desaparecidos nicaragüenses en Costa Rica
La fe y la desesperación se entrelazan en la comunidad costera de Quepos, luego de que las intensas labores de búsqueda y rescate dieran un giro milagroso que une a dos naciones.
El pescador Johnny Rodríguez Oporta, de nacionalidad nicaragüense pero radicado laboralmente en el pacífico costarricense, fue localizado con vida tras sobrevivir 36 horas a la deriva en altamar.
Rodríguez, originario de la localidad de Masachapa en Nicaragua, realizaba su primera faena de pesca en aguas costarricenses cuando su panga naufragó debido al fuerte oleaje provocado por la tormenta tropical Cristina.
Para mantenerse con vida frente al hambre, la intemperie y la intensa sed, tuvo que racionar al máximo sus fuerzas y se vio obligado a beber sus propios orines antes de ser rescatado el martes 9 de junio.
A pesar de la alegría por el rescate de Rodríguez, la angustia persiste en la zona. La embarcación en la que viajaba el sobreviviente naufragó de forma independiente a otra nave que aún continúa desaparecida: la lancha Roxana Dos.
En esta última embarcación viajaban cuatro tripulantes también de origen nicaragüense y vecinos de la comunidad local cuyo paradero sigue siendo un misterio desde la madrugada del pasado lunes, cuando se perdió todo contacto en aguas de Guanacaste.
El epicentro del dolor y la expectativa se concentra en el barrio El Cocal, en Quepos, específicamente en la vivienda de don Mario Baltodano, un ciudadano nicaragüense que echó raíces en Costa Rica y es el dueño de la lancha Roxana Dos.
La tragedia golpea con fuerza a esta familia, ya que tres de los cuatro desaparecidos son parientes directos de don Mario: su hijo Janier Baltodano, su hermano Ramón Baltodano (quien capitaneaba la lancha), su sobrino Abraham Ríos, y un amigo de la familia identificado como José Luis Palacios.
Marielos Núñez, costarricense y esposa del capitán Ramón Baltodano tras 17 años de matrimonio, describió el calvario que viven minuto a minuto debido a la falta de respuestas, reflejando la realidad de un hogar binacional.
A la dolorosa espera de la familia se ha sumado una preocupante situación de vulnerabilidad. Los allegados de los tripulantes de la “Roxana Dos” denunciaron públicamente que personas sin escrúpulos han intentado aprovecharse de la angustia que viven para cometer estafas y extorsiones.
Según indicaron los afectados, han estado recibiendo mensajes de desconocidos que aseguran falsamente tener información verídica sobre el paradero de los náufragos.
Incluso, en algunos de los textos les afirman con frialdad que los pescadores ya fueron encontrados sanos y salvos, pero les exigen depósitos de dinero a cambio de brindarles los supuestos detalles de su ubicación.
Al final, las familias deducen que se trata de engaños de oportunistas que juegan con el dolor ajeno, pues en realidad no saben nada sobre la lancha desaparecida.
Por su parte, don Mario Baltodano relató que logró mantener comunicación con la tripulación hasta las tres de la mañana del lunes. En ese último y dramático contacto, los tripulantes le advirtieron: “Nos lleva el viento y la corriente para mar abierto, a lo hondo”. Tras esa frase, la señal se extinguió.
Ante la enorme cantidad de llamadas y la urgencia por evadir los intentos de fraude, la familia se mantiene en constante comunicación únicamente con los canales oficiales. Adolfo Sánchez, miembro de la familia y oficial de la policía costarricense actualmente incapacitado, se ha encargado de coordinar esfuerzos con el apoyo de paramédicos y personal de aviación civil para efectuar sobrevuelos y reconocimientos en las cuadrículas marítimas.
Las operaciones de rescate se ejecutan de manera binacional, coordinando el Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas de Costa Rica con su homólogo de la Fuerza Naval de Nicaragua para cubrir un área más extensa por mar y aire.
En los recibidores de pescado de Quepos, compañeros del gremio manifestaron su profunda empatía con los Baltodano, recordando que estos pescadores nicaragüenses son parte activa de la economía local y “vienen a buscar la vida” con esfuerzo diario. La comunidad pesquera entera, unida por encima de las fronteras, permanece en oración confiando en que el milagro de Johnny Rodríguez se repita pronto con los cuatro tripulantes de la Roxana Dos y que las autoridades logren frenar el acoso de los estafadores.
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California accused of blocking federal voter roll audit as DOJ escalates probe of election fraud claims
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The Justice Department is escalating its clash with California over voter-roll access, accusing state officials of blocking a federal audit — though Golden State officials warn the demand threatens voter privacy and oversteps federal authority.
The dispute centers on voter roll maintenance and access to registration records, not any publicly identified allegation of impropriety in a specific California race.
«If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed,» Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a lengthy post on X that included a copy of a letter U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ office enforcing federal voting-rights laws, sent to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber last year demanding the state’s voter rolls for inspection.
«What are they afraid of?,» Essayli questioned.
MORE THAN 500,000 CALIFORNIANS DEMAND VOTING OVERHAUL, BACK ‘STRAIGHTFORWARD’ ID LAW
California’s rules allow certain first-time voters who do not provide a Social Security number or driver’s license when registering to verify their identity with documents including gym membership cards, employer IDs, credit or debit cards, prescription labels and insurance cards — a policy Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli says warrants scrutiny. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Emily Elconin/REUTERS)
Dhillon’s letter followed an Aug. 8 response from Weber’s office raising concerns about privacy protections that could be implicated by the state voter-registration data sought by the federal government. A spokesperson from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that «every federal court to consider the issue has ruled U.S. DOJ’s demands violate federal law,» adding that «unlike this federal administration, we don’t do things that are illegal.»
Weber’s office offered to let DOJ inspect a redacted voter-registration database by appointment in Sacramento, arguing that satisfied their legal obligations, but Dhillon rejected that proposal and demanded an electronic copy of the statewide voter list «with all fields,» according to legal filings from the ongoing dispute taking place in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
«We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls,» Essayli wrote in his X post, calling out California Democrats for blocking the federal audit of their voter rolls. «There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.»
Essayli also highlighted how California’s rules allow certain first-time voters who do not provide a Social Security number or driver’s license when registering to verify their identity with documents including gym membership cards, employer IDs, credit or debit cards, prescription labels and insurance cards — a policy his office says warrants scrutiny.
NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS IN DEMOCRAT-RUN STATE EXPOSED AS RNC CHAIR PLEDGES SECURE ELECTIONS
«On top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters’ behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions,» Essayli added. «This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot.»
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the DOJ office that enforces federal voting-rights laws (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The California Attorney General’s office pushed back on Essayli’s framing, noting that DOJ had already lost the case at the district court level and that the pending Ninth Circuit fight stems from the federal government’s appeal of that dismissal.
A U.S. District Judge dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit in January, with the presiding judge writing that the department was seeking «an unprecedented amount of personal information» from California’s unredacted voter rolls, including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, voting history and other sensitive information from nearly 23 million Californians. The judge also wrote that DOJ could not use federal election laws in a way that «wholly disregards the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution.»
FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP ADMIN LAWSUIT SEEKING MICHIGAN VOTER ROLLS
A spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office highlighted in a statement to Fox News Digital that the DOJ has brought approximately 30 voter roll lawsuits nationwide and has lost all eight voter roll cases that have been decided to date.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (R) speaks as California Governor Gavin Newsom looks on during a news conference at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The fight for federal access to California’s voter rolls comes as voter roll maintenance has been a concern of President Donald Trump and Republicans nationally.
«If fraudsters do it right, it can be many, many more votes like this,» Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan told Fox News Digital two weeks ago after a Democratic city official in his state turned herself in for allegedly using her dead mother’s name to vote. Grogan expressed particular concern with mail-in balloting, even though he did recognize its necessity in some cases.
TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA
«Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,» Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital about the Illinois case. «Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states — particularly blue states — actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?»
Chester County, Pennsylvania, election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester on Nov. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Dead registrants have also fueled broader scrutiny of voter roll maintenance nationally.
North Carolina election officials said in April they identified roughly 34,000 deceased people still listed on the state’s voter rolls after a federal database comparison, while other recent local controversies have included allegations or investigations involving deceased voters appearing on registration lists or absentee-ballot records.
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Republicans have argued cases such as these show why states should be more transparent about how they maintain voter lists. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital that the New Jersey records were «eye-opening» and said the party has sought voter roll maintenance information from nearly every state.
DOJ has already pursued a similar records fight inside California, suing Orange County’s registrar last year for allegedly refusing to provide records to help remove noncitizens from its voter-registration list. At the time, Dhillon said removing noncitizens from California’s voter rolls was «critical» to ensuring the state’s rolls are accurate and that elections are conducted without fraudulent voting.
elections disputes, republicans elections, california, justice department, voter fraud concerns
INTERNACIONAL
El primer mapa global de hongos subterráneos reveló dónde está la red viva más extensa del planeta
Debajo de los pies, invisible y sin hacer ruido, existe una red que conecta plantas, mueve nutrientes y ayuda a regular el clima del planeta.
Un grupo científico liderado por investigadores de los Países Bajos publicó el primer mapa global de los organismos que forman esas alianzas subterráneas con cerca del 70% de las plantas terrestres: los hongos micorrízicos arbusculares.
Los resultados del trabajo, publicado en la revista Science de la Asociación Estadounidense para el Avance de la Ciencia, cambian la forma de entender la vida bajo la tierra.
La cifra central del estudio es difícil de imaginar: los suelos superiores del mundo contienen aproximadamente 110 cuatrillones de kilómetros de redes fúngicas vivas, una distancia casi mil millones de veces mayor que la que separa la Tierra del Sol.
Esas redes están formadas por hifas, los filamentos microscópicos más finos que un cabello humano, que actúan como tuberías vivas entre las plantas y los hongos.
El trabajo fue liderado por Justin Stewart y Toby Kiers, de la Sociedad para la Protección de las Redes Subterráneas (SPUN) y la Universidad Libre de Ámsterdam, en los Países Bajos. También contaron con la colaboración de científicos de Sudáfrica, Canadá, Reino Unido, Bélgica y Estados Unidos.
Durante décadas, se sabía que esos hongos existían y que eran vitales, pero nunca había podido calcular cuántos hay ni dónde están con precisión. Las mediciones previas mezclaban distintos tipos de hongos sin distinguirlos, y los mapas globales no existían.
Esa falta de datos era un problema real: sin saber dónde están esas redes ni qué tan densas son, resultaba imposible evaluar su aporte al ciclo del carbono o diseñar políticas concretas para proteger el suelo.
La agricultura intensiva añadía otra preocupación: se sospechaba que los cultivos dañaban estas redes, pero nadie lo había medido a escala planetaria.
Los investigadores que publicaron en Science se propusieron construir un mapa por primera vez, con una resolución de un kilómetro cuadrado por punto de predicción, e identificar qué ecosistemas albergan las redes más densas y qué factores del ambiente las determinan.
Reunieron datos de más de 16.000 muestras de suelo que obtuvieron en nueve biomas distintos, desde desiertos hasta bosques tropicales.
Con esa base, entrenaron modelos de aprendizaje automático, que son sistemas informáticos que detectan patrones en grandes volúmenes de datos, para predecir la densidad de las redes en zonas sin muestras disponibles.
El paso más novedoso fue un robot de imágenes diseñado a medida, capaz de fotografiar redes fúngicas vivas con altísima velocidad y precisión.
Con ese sistema, el equipo tomó más de 300.000 mediciones del grosor de las hifas de tres especies distribuidas en todo el mundo.
Esos datos de grosor fueron la clave para calcular el peso real de las redes: aproximadamente 300 megatones de carbono almacenado en biomasa fúngica viva, una cantidad equivalente a entre cuatro y seis veces todo el carbono que contienen los cuerpos de todos los seres humanos del planeta.
Los resultados mostraron que los pastizales concentran alrededor del 40% de toda la biomasa global de estos hongos.
Zonas como los Everglades en Florida, los humedales del Sudd en Sudán del Sur y la estepa tibetana registraron las densidades más altas, un dato que llamó la atención del equipo porque los pastizales tienen menor vegetación que los bosques tropicales.
Las tierras agrícolas contaron otra historia: sus densidades de hifas fueron, en promedio, un 47,3% menores que en ecosistemas silvestres. El uso de fertilizantes con fósforo y nitrógeno reduce el incentivo de las plantas para alimentar a sus hongos, y los fungicidas los atacan directamente.
Truth & Beauty / Moritz Stefaner, Justin Stewart – SPUN
“Es difícil exagerar la importancia y la magnitud de estos hongos”, dijo Stewart. “Puede haber hasta 10 metros de red micorrízica en apenas una cucharadita de suelo”, resaltó.
Esas redes mueven hacia el interior del suelo unos 3.900 millones de toneladas de dióxido de carbono equivalente cada año, provenientes de las plantas.
“Los hongos han sido ignorados en las políticas climáticas y de conservación por demasiado tiempo”, dijo Kiers. “Ahora es el momento de cambiar esa trayectoria.”
Tras los resultados, los investigadores advirtieron que los datos de suelos profundos son escasos (apenas el 2% de la base corresponde a profundidades mayores de 50 centímetros) y que las tasas de renovación de las hifas permanecen mal documentadas.
El mapa quedó disponible para su descarga por parte de gobiernos y tomadores de decisiones, con el propósito de servir como línea de base para monitorear la salud de estas comunidades fúngicas subterráneas.
En diálogo con Infobae, José Martín Scervino, investigador independiente del Conicet que estudia las relaciones entre las comunidades de hongos y bacterias en el Instituto INIBIOMA, en Bariloche, Argentina, comentó: “Este mapa revela una enorme red biológica oculta bajo nuestros pies que hasta ahora no podíamos dimensionar”.
Los hongos micorrízicos son esenciales para la vida terrestre porque -remarcó el científico- “ayudan a las plantas a obtener nutrientes, mantienen la salud de los suelos y favorecen el almacenamiento de carbono. Saber dónde se encuentran y cómo se distribuyen nos brinda una herramienta clave para proteger ecosistemas y afrontar los desafíos ambientales del futuro”.
Scervino agregó: “Para América Latina, una región que alberga algunos de los ecosistemas más biodiversos del planeta y cuya economía depende fuertemente de los recursos naturales, esta información puede contribuir al diseño de estrategias de conservación, restauración de tierras degradadas y desarrollo de prácticas agrícolas más sostenibles”.
plantación,agricultura,árboles,filas,monocultivo,campo,paisaje,cielo,cultivos,uniformidad
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