Think of what would happen to the internet. Not only your Wi-Fi, but the whole world. Communication fails. Support systems vanish. And this is the very crisis that is beating down our forests, even at this moment, beneath the feet. Scientists are discovering dismally the vital fungal networks that bind trees are dying. The blame falls on climate change. This is not only concerning trees, but it is concerning the culmination of an old agreement that has been keeping life going.
The Forest of the Hidden Social Network
Forests were perceived by us as a group of trees. Now we understand that they are societies. The revelation of Suzanne Simard contributed to the discovery of the Woodwide Web. It is a network of mycorrhizal fungi that is extensive and subterranean. Such fungi connect the roots of almost all plants in a forest. They enable a mute, unremitting dialogue. This was a discovery that transformed ecology.
- The trees do not merely compete as one forest ecologist at the University of British Columbia explains, but they are collaborators. The fungi are the intermediate ones.
This symbiotic is a fragile trade agreement. Photosynthesis gives the fungi sugary food provided by the trees. The fungal web, in turn, serves as an appendage of the root system of the tree. It forages water and the valuable nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. This is an important finding of interdependence.
How Climate Change Chokes the Web
The dangers that this system faces are numerous and continuous. Let’s break down the assault.
First, there is drought. Mycelial networks are very delicate. They are about 90% water. They are dry and withered by prolonged drought. The physical relationships literally break. Suddenly, a seedling will not be able to access the assistance it would need to survive.
Then, there is pollution. The nitrogen produced by agriculture and industries in the air is similar to an overdose of fertilizers. It prefers the cheater fungal species. These species consume carbon in trees without contributing much. They interfere with the fine economy of the forest. This finding brings out an unseen menace.
And lastly, excessive heat and deforestation. An increase in the soil temperature roasts delicate fungal threads. The heavy logging equipment presses down the soil, destroying the structure of the web. Each stressor alone is bad. The combination of them is devastating.
A World Unraveling: The Consequences
What will become of this web, which breaks to pieces? The woods turn into an assembly of outsiders.
The level of seedling survival reduces drastically. The subsequent generation cannot survive without the nutrient subsidy by the mother trees. The resilience of forests fails. In a 2023 study, Global Change Biology reported that network connectivity in drought-stressed forests of European beech reduced by 70 percent. This leads to a decrease in the storage of carbon. Weakened trees grow slower. The fungal web per se contains immense amounts of carbon in the soil. That carbon is able to be released when it dies. This forms a deadly climate feedback mechanism.
The Case of the Dying Giant: Silent Struggle of Pando
Take the case of Pando aspen grove in Utah. It is one of the oldest and largest organisms on the earth. This giant is 106 acres that consists of one entity with a root and fungus system. Yet, it is dying.
The major suspect is the megadrought in the American West. Scientists that study its soil discover less and less fungal associations. The web that has supported it over a millennium is disintegrating. It is a terrifying piece of information. There is no forest that can be safe in case the web of Pando breaks.
An Expert’s Urgent Plea
We are putting in the blind management of forests.
- A mycologist of the Society to protect the Underground Networks (SPUN) says that after centuries, we have been using timber without paying attention to the fungus on which it is based. Our policies guard the trunks and not the conversations between the trunks. We must change that.”
This point of view changes the whole discussion. Saving of trees is not the only thing under conservation. It is regarding salvaging their relationships. This finding requires a different approach.
Re-weaving the Web: Can it even be done?
So, what can we do? The difficulty is too much, yet not insurmountable.
We should have myco-informed forestry. This is to leave root systems left after logging. It implies decreasing the compaction of soil. There are even some groups that are trying reintroducing native fungi back to the degraded lands. Consider it a re-inoculation course to the soil. Moreover, we need to discuss the origins of the problem rampant emissions and pollution.
A Final, Uncomfortable Truth
Silent crisis is the death of the Woodwide Web. It is a pacing out of the most basic of partnerships in life. It is only at this moment that we are finding out how much we are losing.
We exist with the well being of these invisible networks. The security of them is no longer a scientific fringe issue. It is one of the essential climate moves. We live at the mercy of the world under our feet, and our future, and our forests. Let’s start acting like it.