Fungal Networks Beneath the Forest Floor
Many plants form mycorrhizae, symbioses between roots and fungi. Fungal hyphae spread through soil and can improve roots’ access to water and nutrients; in return, the plant supplies the fungus with carbon made through photosynthesis. When the same fungal mycelium colonizes roots of multiple plants, it forms a common mycorrhizal network.
Controlled experiments and some field studies have recorded movement of labelled carbon and other compounds between plants. But how frequent, directional, and ecologically important this transfer is in natural forests remains under active study and debate. That is why the popular nickname “wood-wide web” can mislead: the network is not a digital system, and current evidence does not show that trees consciously communicate or altruistically support one another.