Nature · 2
What is the name of the phenomenon where certain trees send carbon and nutrients to neighbouring trees through underground fungal networks?
Answer
The mycorrhizal network
Mycorrhizal networks are webs of fungal threads (hyphae) that connect the root systems of trees, allowing the transfer of carbon, water, phosphorus, and nitrogen between plants. Ecologist Suzanne Simard's landmark research showed that older 'mother trees' actively send resources to younger seedlings through these networks.
💡 Did you know?
A single teaspoon of healthy forest soil can contain several kilometres of fungal threads, forming the living backbone of the 'Wood Wide Web.'
Other options people guess
- Symbiotic root grafting
- Allelopathic signalling
- Rhizosphere cycling
Topics
- plants
- fungi
- forests
- ecology
- biology
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