However, others argue that the all-wood network is well-founded and believe that further studies will confirm many of the hypotheses put forward about fungi in the forest. Colin Averill, a mycologist at ETH Zurich, says that the evidence Dr Karst has gathered is impressive. However, he added, “my overall interpretation of that evidence is quite different.”
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Most plant roots are colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, forming one of the most common symbionts on Earth. The fungi collect water and nutrients from the soil; They then swapped some of this treasure with plants in exchange for sugars and other carbon-containing molecules.
David Read, a botanist at the University of Sheffield, shown in a 1984 paper that compounds labeled with a radioactive form of carbon could flow through fungi between plants grown in the laboratory. Years later, Suzanne Simard, then an ecologist with the British Columbia Department of Forestry, demonstrated two-way carbon transfer in a forest between young Douglas fir and paper birch. When Dr. Simard and her colleagues shaded Douglas for the first time to reduce their rate of photosynthesis, the plants’ uptake of radiocarbon spiked, suggesting that underground carbon flux could promote promote the growth of young plants in the shade.
Dr. Simard et al published their results in 1997 in the journal Nature, splashed it on the cover and dubbed the discovery “the net of wood”. Soon after, a group of senior researchers criticized the study, saying it contained methodological flaws that confounded the results. Dr. Simard responded to the criticisms, and she and her colleagues designed additional studies to address them.
Over time, the criticism faded and the site-wide network gained many followers. Dr. Simard’s 1997 paper has garnered nearly 1,000 citations and she 2016 The TED Talk, “How plants talk to each other,” has been viewed more than 5 million times.
In the book “The Hidden Life of Trees”, the book was sold more than 2 million copiesPeter Wohlleben, a German forester, cited Dr. Simard when describing forests as social networks and mycelium as “internet fiber cables” that help trees communicate with each other about dangers such as insects. and drought.
