{"id":71800,"date":"2025-11-12T12:30:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/?p=71800"},"modified":"2026-02-21T21:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:20:39","slug":"the-underground-internet-the-ecological-network-fungi-create","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/the-underground-internet-the-ecological-network-fungi-create\/","title":{"rendered":"The Underground Internet: The Ecological Network Fungi Create"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When walking in a forest, the soil beneath our feet looks silent and still at first glance. Yet behind that silence lies a vast communication network, hidden from the human eye[1]<\/a>. This underground network, where delicate fungal threads (hyphae that form the mycelium) wrap around tree roots, is almost like the soil\u2019s invisible nervous system. Scientists call this underground communication line that connects plants to one another a \u201cmycorrhizal network.\u201d Because fungi and roots build a shared living web, it is also described\u2014by analogy to modern communication technologies\u2014as the \u201cinternet of trees\u201d or the \u201cweb of forests\u201d[2]<\/a>. So how does this silent dialogue in the plant world actually work, and what kinds of lessons might it hold for landscape architecture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Silent Dialogue Among Plants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It has been discovered that there is a dialogue in the plant kingdom that long went unnoticed. About a quarter of a century ago, ecologist Suzanne Simard at the University of British Columbia showed that trees \u201csignal their needs to one another and share essential nutrients\u201d through fungal networks spread under the soil\u2014in other words, that they can, in a sense, \u201ctalk\u201d[4]<\/a>. This finding reshaped how we see forest ecosystems by revealing that trees, while silent on the surface, are in continuous interaction through their roots. Truly, there is no tree that stands entirely alone in a forest; each one exchanges chemical signals and nutrients with its neighbors through fungi[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking aspects of this silent network is that it can function like a system of solidarity and warning. For instance, in a field experiment it was observed that a Douglas fir attacked by insects sent a chemical \u201cwarning signal\u201d through the fungal network to a nearby Scots pine (a pine species); the alerted neighbor began producing defense enzymes against insects[5]<\/a>. Similarly, it has been reported that large, mature \u201cmother trees\u201d transfer carbon and nutrients to young seedlings via fungal networks, almost as if they are feeding them[6]<\/a>. These findings suggest that trees in a forest practice not only competition but also cooperation, and that they can survive by quietly signaling and supporting one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ecological benefits of this dialogue, mediated by fungi, are also deeply intriguing. Through fungal networks, plants can share not only nutrients but also stress and danger signals[2]<\/a>. A water-stressed tree may receive water or nutrient support from neighbors; a sick plant can warn others with chemical signals so they can prepare[5]<\/a>[2]<\/a>. This is like a language of nature\u2014inaudible to human ears, yet critical for the health of the entire forest ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n

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