Trees trade carbon for water and mineral nutrients with mycorrhizal fungi, and a mapped network of Douglas firs is linked by Rhizopogon fungi. Then comes a twist: biological-market experiments suggest the fungi may be self-interested brokers rather than selfless couriers, so the proven biology is kept apart from the language of sharing.
Who's who
- Suzanne Simard+2 more episodesUniversity of British Columbia forest ecologist; co-author of the network mapping
- Kevin BeilerResearcher who genetically mapped a Rhizopogon-Douglas-fir network
- E. Toby Kiers+1 more episodeEvolutionary biologist; lead author of the 2011 biological-market experiments
- Albert Bernhard FrankBotanist who coined the term mycorrhiza in 1885
Timeline
- 1885Albert Bernhard Frank coins the term mycorrhiza
- 1997Simard and colleagues publish evidence of carbon transfer between Douglas-fir and paper birch
- 2010Beiler and colleagues publish a genetic map of a Rhizopogon-Douglas-fir network
- 2011Kiers et al. publish biological-market experiments in Science
- 2017Two Science papers show plants transfer lipids, not only sugars, to fungi
- 2023Karst, Jones and Hoeksema critique forest network claims as overstated
Still debated
Whether the mapped network actually benefits seedlings in the wild is disputed, as is whether mother trees favor kin. Researchers also debate whether the fungus or the tree drives the exchange, and whether words like sharing and communication help or mislead.