🌲 The Wood Wide Web: How Trees Cross Talk скачать в хорошем качестве

🌲 The Wood Wide Web: How Trees Cross Talk

Deep beneath the forest floor lies nature's original internet—a vast network of fungal threads connecting trees in ways that challenge everything we thought we knew about forests. Welcome to the Wood Wide Web. What is it? Mycorrhizal fungus form microscopic networks linking tree roots across entire forests. These thread-like hyphae wrap around root tips, creating highways for communication and resource sharing between trees. How trees "talk": Through chemical signals and electrical pulses, trees warn neighbors about insect attacks, drought, or disease. When one tree detects danger, it sends alarm signals through the fungal network, prompting distant trees to boost their defenses before threats arrive. Resource sharing: Older "mother trees" with deep roots send water, C, N, and P to struggling seedlings through these networks. Large trees can even recognize their offspring and preferentially share resources with related saplings. The fungal middleman: Why do fungi facilitate this?They take about 30% of tree sugars as payment while providing minerals trees can't access alone. It's a win-win partnership millions of years in the making.A single fungal network can connect hundreds of trees across kilometers, with some networks lasting over 2,000 years. This underground internet reveals forests aren't collections of competing individuals—they're collaborative communities where trees support each other's survival. Next forest walk, remember: beneath your feet, an ancient conversation continues.