Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and publichealth on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little isknown about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. Wepresent the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales,showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we findthat the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher incontinental air than in marine air. This may be an important differencebetween the "blue ocean" and "green ocean" regimes in the formation ofclouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Ourfindings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmosphericcirculation are important for the understanding of global changes inbiodiversity.
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