Architecture of the wood-wide web: Rhizopogon spp. genets link multiple Douglas-fir cohorts

Old-growth forests have network architecture. Beiler and Simard mapped the underground mycorrhizal connections in a 30×30 meter plot of Douglas-fir and discovered something remarkable: large veteran trees act as hub nodes, connecting to up to 47 other trees through fungal networks. The forest isn't a collection of individuals competing for resources—it's an integrated system where information and nutrients flow through network topology.

The research used DNA microsatellite analysis to trace fungal genets (genetically identical fungal networks) linking trees across age cohorts. Young saplings establish within the mycorrhizal network of veterans, gaining access to shared resources. The architecture shows scale-free properties—a few highly connected hubs with many low-connection nodes—the same pattern seen in the internet, airline routes, and social networks.

For business, this reframes how we think about organizational longevity. The 'mother trees' aren't just large because they're old; they're central because they've accumulated connections over decades. Removing the most-connected hub tree collapsed network connectivity far more than removing random trees. Corporate networks work the same way: a few key individuals or institutions hold disproportionate connectivity, and their loss fragments systems in ways that raw headcount doesn't predict.

The finding that young trees plug into existing networks rather than building their own explains why incumbents can nurture successors but outsiders struggle to penetrate established ecosystems.