Deep beneath every forest lies a hidden network as complex as a city’s power grid. It isn’t made of cables or wires but of living threads of fungi. Scientists call it the “wood-wide web” — a vast underground system that allows trees to share water, nutrients, and even warnings.
The secret connectors are microscopic filaments called mycorrhizae. These fungal strands attach to tree roots and spread through the soil, linking one tree to another. Through this partnership, fungi receive sugars produced by trees during photosynthesis, while trees gain access to extra water and minerals gathered by the fungi’s far-reaching network.
But the exchange doesn’t stop at food. Experiments show that when one tree is attacked by insects or suffers drought stress, it can send chemical or electrical signals through the fungal web. Nearby trees pick up the warning and boost their own defences. Older “mother trees” even pass nutrients to younger saplings growing in the shade, helping them survive until they can reach sunlight.
This hidden communication shapes how forests grow, compete, and recover from damage. When one tree falls, its nutrients are absorbed by others through the same network — recycling life beneath the surface.
The wood-wide web reveals that forests aren’t just groups of individual trees; they’re cooperative communities, whispering underground in threads of living connection.
Fast messaging
Chemical signals can travel through roots and fungi within minutes.