The Wood Wide Web
Mycorrhizal Networks
Mycorrhizal networks are underground webs of mycorrhizal fungi which connect trees and plants. The fungi find their home in and around the roots of trees, and form filaments in the earth. Like the silk threads of a spider's web, they connect and intertwine in the soil, providing each tree with a connection to its neighbours.
Through these networks, trees are able to share nutrients, steal nutrients and communicate with one other. This mesh of fungi is also know as the Wood Wide Web.
Further Reading
- The Kid Should See This: The Wood Wide Web: How trees secretly talk to and share with each other: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-wood-wide-web-how-trees-secretly-talk-to-and-share-with-each-other
- Yale Environment 360: Exploring How and Why Trees ‘Talk’ to Each Other: https://e360.yale.edu/features/exploring_how_and_why_trees_talk_to_each_other
- Science Magazine: ‘Wood wide web’—the underground network of microbes that connects trees—mapped for first time: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/wood-wide-web-underground-network-microbes-connects-trees-mapped-first-time
- TED: How trees talk to each other: https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other