Arboreus

Many of us consider a tree to consist of the trunk and crown but the main part of its life actually takes place underground. The root system of a tree can spread two to four times the diameter of its crown and the roots are more than just pathways for water. The root systems of different trees and indeed different species are in fact all intertwined and growing together. Current scientific thinking is that root systems form a mycorrhizal fungal association. Mycorrhizal fungi are a certain species of fungi which associate with all of the tall tree species worldwide. They form a mutualistic relationship where the fungus grows in the root and provides the root with nutrients and water and the fungus collects this from the surrounding soil. In just one teaspoon of soil there can be hundreds of meters of string-like hyphae that form a network where food and information are exchanged.

The fungi provide a messaging service to the trees and in return receive the produce of photosynthesis from the tree. In some circumstances a tree might share almost a third of its total food production with the fungi. Carbo molecules actually travel from one tree to another using these mycorrhizal networks. When walking through woodland you are only millimetres away from an incredible network beneath.