Mycorrhizal networks: Mechanisms, ecology and modelling
Comprehensive review establishing mycorrhizal networks exist universally—fungi extract 10-30% broker fees, reframing the Wood Wide Web as market economics.
Every forest is a network—and this comprehensive review maps the architecture. Simard and colleagues synthesized decades of research on mycorrhizal networks: the fungal connections linking plant roots across entire ecosystems. The review established that these networks exist in all major terrestrial ecosystems and function through three primary mechanisms: mycorrhizal colonization, interplant resource transfers, and coordinated signaling.
The most provocative finding concerns network economics. Fungi don't just connect trees—they extract broker fees of 10-30% of transferred carbon. This reframes the 'Wood Wide Web' narrative: it's not altruistic sharing but a market with intermediaries capturing value from transactions. For organizations, this illuminates platform economics: infrastructure providers (AWS, Visa, app stores) evolved the fungal strategy of facilitating connections while extracting fees. The forest's network architecture isn't socialism—it's transaction-based capitalism that predates human markets by 400 million years.
Key Findings from Simard et al. (2012)
- Mycorrhizal networks exist in all major terrestrial ecosystems—this architecture is universal, not exceptional
- Networks function through colonization, resource transfer, and coordinated signaling between connected plants
- Fungi extract 10-30% of transferred carbon—broker fees, not altruistic sharing
- Network structure influences plant establishment, growth, and community dynamics at ecosystem scale
- Climate and disturbance stress amplify network facilitation effects—networks become more valuable under pressure