Beneath our feet lies a vast communication network connecting trees and plants—a fungal internet that scientists call the "wood wide web." This network consists of mycorrhizal fungi, which form symbiotic relationships with plant roots.
The relationship is mutually beneficial. Fungi provide plants with water and nutrients, especially phosphorus, which they extract efficiently from soil. In return, plants provide fungi with sugars produced through photosynthesis.
But the network does more than just exchange nutrients. Research has shown that trees use fungal connections to share resources with their offspring and neighbors, even different species. A dying tree may dump its resources into the network for others to use.