Mycorrhizal Networks (Wood Wide Web)

Ecology & Ecosystems 1997

Discoverers: Suzanne Simard

Overview

Discovery that trees in forests are connected through underground mycorrhizal fungal networks, sharing carbon, nutrients, and chemical signals.

Significance

Revealed that forests function as cooperative superorganisms rather than collections of competing individuals, transforming forest ecology.

Methodology

Radioactive carbon isotope tracing between paper birch and Douglas fir through ectomycorrhizal networks in British Columbia forests.

Impact