Mycorrhizal Symbiosis (3rd ed)
TL;DR
The 800-page bible of fungal networks: 80% of plants share resources through underground mycelium, trading carbon for nutrients.
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The definitive scientific reference on mycorrhizal symbiosis, documenting 400 million years of the most successful platform business in nature. Essential for understanding how mutualistic networks create value, how platforms should price their services, and why the oldest venture networks on Earth are fungal, not financial.
Key Findings from Smith & Read (2008)
- Over 80% of land plants form mycorrhizal associations—making this Earth's dominant plant survival strategy
- Plants transfer 10-20% of photosynthetic carbon to fungal partners in exchange for phosphorus and nitrogen access
- Mycorrhizal relationships are 400+ million years old, predating the colonization of land by most plant lineages
- Nutrient transfer between trees via fungal networks documented at up to 40% of recipient seedling's carbon
- Mother trees preferentially support their own offspring through network nutrient transfers
- Chemical alarm signals travel through mycorrhizal networks, allowing trees to warn neighbors of attacks