Trees Can Communicate and Share Nutrients Underground

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Trees Can Communicate and Share Nutrients Underground

Curated by Surfaced EditorialΒ·Nature

Trees in a forest are connected through vast underground fungal networks called mycorrhizal networks, often called the 'Wood Wide Web.' Through these networks, trees share carbon, water, and nutrients, and even send chemical warning signals about insect attacks.

Why It’s Fascinating

It overturns the view of forests as collections of competing individuals. Mother trees actively nurture their seedlings through these networks, and dying trees dump their resources into the network for others. Forests are cooperative communities, not battlefields.

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