Question

As seen in the PBS Nature documentary ‘What Plants Talk About’, in the rainforest of British Columbia there is a species of conifer (Douglas fir) in which the trees are connected underground by their roots and mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi connects the trees into a resource sharing community. Which organisms are the biggest beneficiaries in this community?

mushrooms

seedlings of the Douglas fir

lichens growing on these trees

elderly Douglas fir

Answer 1

The biggest beneficiaries in the community in which species of conifer (Douglas fir) are connected underground by their roots through mycorrhizal fungi is seedlings of the Douglas

The hub trees of Douglas fir which are the tallest and longest perform photosynthesis using sunlight whereas the mycorrhizal fungi living in the roots of the trees survive by obtaining sugar from the trees. The body of fungi is made of thread like structures called mycelium. The mycelium provides the nutrients from the soil to the trees. The tree fungus relation connect the trees in the forest together forming an underground communication together to exchange water and nutrients especially to the seedlings to nurture, and send warning signal to the seedlings under threat. The seedlings used mycelium mesh to exclude the roots from interacting directly with one another and allowed mycorrhizal fungi to link the two plants.