Compositions comprising beauveria bassiana and methods of use thereof

A method for sequestering atmospheric carbon for storage as soil organic carbon (SOC), comprising:

• heterologously disposing one or more fungal strains to treat a plant element,
• wherein the one or more fungal strains comprises a nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence that is at least 97% identical to the nucleotide sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs:
• 1-8;
• and
• the one or more fungal strains are in an effective amount to increase sequestered atmospheric carbon in soil supporting a plant derived from the treated plant element relative to soil supporting a reference plant derived from a reference plant element.

A synthetic combination comprising a purified population of one or more fungal strains heterologously disposed to a plant element,

• wherein the one or more fungal strains are heterologous to the plant element and comprise a nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence that is at least 97% identical to the nucleotide sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs:
• 1-8;
• and an agriculturally acceptable carrier;
• wherein the one or more fungal strains are present in an effective amount to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) in soil supporting a plant derived from the plant element in the synthetic combination relative to soil supporting a reference plant derived from a reference plant element.