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A mycorrhizal network (also known as a common mycorrhizal network or CMN) is an underground network found in forests and other plant communities, created by the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi joining with plant roots. This network connects individual plants together.
Plants connected by mycorrhizal fungi in mycorrhizal networks can use these underground connections to communicate warning signals. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] For example, when a host plant is attacked by an aphid , the plant signals surrounding connected plants of its condition.
Plant genotypes have shown that mycorrhizal fungal traits are heritable and play a role in plant behavior. These relationships with fungal networks can be mutualistic, commensal, or even parasitic. It has been shown that plants can rapidly change behavior such as root growth, shoot growth, photosynthetic rate, and defense mechanisms in response ...
A single plant with its associated fungus is not an isolated entity. It has been shown that mycelia from the roots of one plant actually colonize the roots of nearby plants, creating an underground network of plants of the same or different species. This network is known as a common mycorrhizal network (CMN). It has been demonstrated that ...
The hyphal network of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) extends beyond the depletion zone (grey), accessing a greater area of soil for phosphate uptake. A mycorrhizal-phosphate depletion zone will also eventually form around AM hyphae (purple). Other nutrients that have enhanced assimilation in AM-roots include nitrogen (ammonium) and zinc.
There are two types of mycorrhizal networks. Most plants are associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). AMF are able to form symbioses with several plant species and connect to roots of different hosts, allowing CMN. Mycelium networks function through signals that are first produced in plants, then move to the roots and then migrate to ...
Turnover of mycorrhizal biomass into the soil carbon pool is thought to be rapid [7] and has been shown in some ecosystems to be the dominant pathway by which living carbon enters the soil carbon pool. [8] Outlined below are the leading lines of evidence for how different aspects of mycorrhizal fungi may alter soil carbon decomposition and storage.
The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) is a science-based initiative to map and protect the mycorrhizal networks that regulate the Earth's climate and ecosystems. [ 1 ] The organization was founded in 2021.