In the past couple of years, you may have read that trees can communicate with one another using an invisible network of fungi, but what does it mean for trees to communicate? That old oak tree in your front yard isn’t going to say ‘howdy’ as you walk by, and it certainly isn’t sending you a text – but it can send chemical messengers through its roots into the vast network of hundreds of fungi which are happy to pass along the note to nearby trees, shrubs, and even grasses. The fungi are not just the mushrooms which pop up after a good rain but the tiny white, yellow, or orange threads which innervate most of the topsoiland provide countless services as they break down old plant matter and create fresh soil. These cobweb-looking threads are actually the body of the fungus which can range from inches in size to miles wide in extreme cases.
Submitted Photo
Many of these fungi have developed special relationships with plants in which these fibers, called mycelium, wrap around or even penetrate the rootlets of trees, shrubs, and pretty much anything with roots and set up shop. At this junction they trade water for the plant’s sugars. This interaction is called a mycorrhizal relationship. The mycelium is far thinner and wider than even a tree‘s roots and can soak up a lot of water, but they desperately want what the plant makes and they can’t – fuel in the form of sugars and carbohydrates. These relationships go further as many fungi can lure, trap, and digest small bugs such as springtails and nematodes and trade vital nitrogen for even more sugars! Moreso, they help mycorrhizal plants become more resistant to disease as fungi can act like an external immune system, taking out bacteria and pests before they reach the plant. This symbiotic relationship helps both plants and fungi thrive where they otherwise wouldn’t have. In fact, many plants and fungi can’t grow to maturity without a partner. These relationships have gone so far that some trees need a specific subset of fungi to grow, and some fungi can’t grow without their special tree buddies! Orchids can’t even germinate without their mycorrhizal partners. This is why most soil mixes are actually pre-inoculated with known beneficial fungi (check it out on the next bag of potting soil you buy!).
Okay, so fungi are pretty much everywhere in the soil and have plant friends, but what about the communication? Plants don’t just send out buckets of sugar to keep the fungi happy, they also send out a constant trickle of chemical messengers. These chemicals (just little organic molecules) are a kind of diagnostic of the tree – some might mean the tree is getting lots of great sun while others may indicate a bug infestation. These signals are passed from one plant to another through the fungi, allowing the other plants to unfurl their leaves a bit more for the sun or shore up their defenses against the bug infestation. This underground wood-wide web allows for plants, even different species, to work as a community by simply telling their neighbors how they are doing. That means that in some ways the trees actually are chatting about the weather, gossiping about their pest-infested neighbors, or even encouraging their young ones to grow. In some cases, the fungi are even tasked with storing sugars, nitrogen, and other vital nutrients for new plants in the neighborhood as the local environment shifts – all to keep the community healthy, happy, and thriving even in times of transition.
Who would have thought that mycorrhizal relationships would have such wisdom to share? I wonder what we’ll learn next time we tap into the Wood-Wide Web?
Dr. Goodman recently published the book “Edible Wild Mushroom Foraging and Identification presented by The Alabama Mushroom Society”.
Submitted Photo
Tree Talk: Wood Wide Web
By Anthoni Goodman, Ph.D.
Commentary
In the past couple of years, you may have read that trees can communicate with one another using an invisible network of fungi, but what does it mean for trees to communicate? That old oak tree in your front yard isn’t going to say ‘howdy’ as you walk by, and it certainly isn’t sending you a text – but it can send chemical messengers through its roots into the vast network of hundreds of fungi which are happy to pass along the note to nearby trees, shrubs, and even grasses. The fungi are not just the mushrooms which pop up after a good rain but the tiny white, yellow, or orange threads which innervate most of the topsoiland provide countless services as they break down old plant matter and create fresh soil. These cobweb-looking threads are actually the body of the fungus which can range from inches in size to miles wide in extreme cases.
Submitted Photo
Many of these fungi have developed special relationships with plants in which these fibers, called mycelium, wrap around or even penetrate the rootlets of trees, shrubs, and pretty much anything with roots and set up shop. At this junction they trade water for the plant’s sugars. This interaction is called a mycorrhizal relationship. Th e mycelium is far thinner and wider than even a tree‘s roots and can soak up a lot of water, but they desperately want what the plant makes and they can’t – fuel in the form of sugars and carbohydrates. These relationships go further as many fungi can lure, trap, and digest small bugs such as springtails and nematodes and trade vital nitrogen for even more sugars! Moreso, they help mycorrhizal plants become more resistant to disease as fungi can act like an external immune system, taking out bacteria and pests before they reach the plant. This symbiotic relationship helps both plants and fungi thrive where they otherwise wouldn’t have. In fact, many plants and fungi can’t grow to maturity without a partner. These relationships have gone so far that some trees need a specific subset of fungi to grow, and some fungi can’t grow without their special tree buddies! Orchids can’t even germinate without their mycorrhizal partners. This is why most soil mixes are actually pre-inoculated with known beneficial fungi (check it out on the next bag of potting soil you buy!).
Okay, so fungi are pretty much everywhere in the soil and have plant friends, but what about the communication? Plants don’t just send out buckets of sugar to keep the fungi happy, they also send out a constant trickle of chemical messengers. These chemicals (just little organic molecules) are a kind of diagnostic of the tree – some might mean the tree is getting lots of great sun while others may indicate a bug infestation. These signals are passed from one plant to another through the fungi, allowing the other plants to unfurl their leaves a bit more for the sun or shore up their defenses against the bug infestation. This underground wood-wide web allows for plants, even different species, to work as a community by simply telling their neighbors how they are doing. That means that in some ways the trees actually are chatting about the weather, gossiping about their pest-infested neighbors, or even encouraging their young ones to grow. In some cases, the fungi are even tasked with storing sugars, nitrogen, and other vital nutrients for new plants in the neighborhood as the local environment shifts – all to keep the community healthy, happy, and thriving even in times of transition.
Who would have thought that mycorrhizal relationships would have such wisdom to share? I wonder what we’ll learn next time we tap into the Wood-Wide Web?