🌲Have you heard of the wood wide web?! It’s an underground network of roots and mycorrhizal fungi allowing trees to share water, nutrients, and even chemical signals. Fungal hyphae (microscopic threads) connect the roots of different plants and trees. They form a sheath around roots and an internal structure called the Hartig net, enabling exchange of nutrients with the plant. Trees supply the fungi with carbon (sugars from photosynthesis), and in return, fungi deliver nitrogen, phosphorus, water, and other minerals.

Healthy trees can send sugars and minerals to others in need, including living stumps that no longer have leaves to photosynthesize. The fungi transfers essential resources from nearby trees to the stump’s roots. This connection allows living stumps to stay alive for years, supported by their forest community.

#forest #nature #livingstump #fungi #fungus