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Do forest trees really “talk” through an underground fungi network? Not so fast, say researchers. Popular ideas are getting ahead of science.

Fungi Monotropastrum humile A kind of myco-heterotroph.

The notion that forest trees can communicate, share resources, and even safeguard their seedlings through an underground network of delicate fungal filaments has captured the public’s imagination and earned the moniker “wood-wide web.” However, University of Alberta expert Justine Karst warns that the science behind these ideas is yet to be proven.

In a peer-reviewed article in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Karst and her colleagues challenge three commonly held beliefs about the abilities of underground fungi (e.g. mushrooms, molds, yeast) known as common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs).

Karst, an Associate Professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, states,

“It’s great that CMN research has attracted attention to forest fungi, but it’s crucial for the public to understand that many popular ideas are ahead of the science.”

The researchers conducted a review of existing field studies to assess the popular claims and found that:

  • The claim that CMNs are widespread in forests is not supported by sufficient scientific evidence as too few forests have been mapped.
  • The idea that resources such as nutrients are transferred from adult trees to seedlings through CMNs, leading to improved survival and growth, was also found to be questionable. The review of 26 studies revealed that while resources can be transferred underground, CMNs do not necessarily cause the flow and seedlings do not necessarily benefit from CMN access.
  • The notion that adult trees send resources or warning signals of insect damage to young trees through CMNs was not supported by a single peer-reviewed field study.

The authors of the article believe that the dissemination of overstated information about CMNs can shape and distort public perception and, in turn, impact forest management.

Image Credits

In-Article Image Credits

Fungi Monotropastrum humile A kind of myco-heterotroph. via Wikipedia Commons by Daiju Azuma with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 20, 2006

Featured Image Credit

Fungi Monotropastrum humile A kind of myco-heterotroph. via Wikipedia Commons by Daiju Azuma with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 20, 2006

 

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