trees communicate through fungi

Dr. Suzanne Simard is a professor with the UBC Faculty of Forestry, who has shown that trees communicate with each other through fungi.

‘She comes to us with the amazing discovery that mycorrhizae and mycorrhizal fungi forms networks between the trees that allow for a type of communication between the trees.

It's a symbiotic relationship; the trees provide the fungus with carbohydrate energy in return for water and nutrients that the fungi collect from the soil.

"The mycorrhizal networks form when mycelia connect the roots of two or more plants of the same or different species." writes Dr. Simard.

"Through careful experimentation, recent graduate Francois Teste determined that survival of these establishing trees was greatly enhanced when they were linked into the network of old trees.”

In this real-life model of forest resilience and regeneration, Professor Suzanne Simard shows that all trees in a forest ecosystem are interconnected, with the largest, oldest, "mother trees" serving as hubs. The underground exchange of nutrients increases the survival of younger trees linked into the network of old trees.'

Read more at http://higherperspective.com/2014/10/trees-communicate-fungus.html