Common Mycorrhizal Network in the Forest Ecosystem

The fungal biomass in the soil of a boreal forest is estimated to be about 900 kg ha - 1 (Wallander et al., 2001). Given the number of fungal mycelia in the soil, the entire forest ecosystem is likely to be interconnected by a fungal network called common fungal root network (CMN) (Peter, 2006; Lekberg et al., 2010) . The simplest CMN structure consists of one or more mycorrhizal fungi that connect the roots of at least two plants. Another possibility is when fungal mycelia fuse and link the roots of their host plants.

Mushrooms grow small roots (mycelia), which stick to plants and bind them together. Known as mycorrhizal network, it forms a complex, sturdy, and more importantly huge infrastructure that supports the entire ecosystem. Strangely, like our internet, imaginative scientists have created the word Wood Wide Web. Nature is a great collaboration and synergistic effect. Fungi and plants do not even belong to the same kingdom. But they can integrate their bodies for mutual benefit. The jungle law may not be the idea we always had. Let's hug a tree like your favorite creature: help each other, share nutrition and grow the roots!

Especially interesting are mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza association is an attractive partnership that brings mutually beneficial exchanges that arise when certain fungal mycelium entangles or invades the roots of plants. Fungi (because they lack chlorophyll found in plants) can not directly obtain energy from the sun itself, and photosynthesis can be used to obtain sugars produced by plants. In return, fungi provide plants with important nutrients that are extracted and transported from the soil that would otherwise be unavailable to plants. Surprisingly, most plants in almost all the terrestrial ecosystems in the world rely on these relationships to promote healthy growth. Without it, the world's forest ecosystem will collapse, which will provide a view on the importance of fungi. )