Rooted Wisdom: What the Wood Wide Web Teaches Life-Centered Companies

Did you know that the Earth's oldest living organisms are trees? The Bristlecone pines, a select group of trees, surpass all other known living organisms, with some nearing 5,000 years. Among them, Methuselah, a remarkable tree, stands at the venerable age of 4,791 years, residing in the Inyo National Forest between California and Nevada.

As we savor the soul-nurturing experience of walking in a forest, we might see a mere collection of trees. Yet, beneath the Earth's surface, a remarkable natural infrastructure thrives. The forest's roots create a network, sharing nutrients, energy, and sustaining the entire ecosystem.

For centuries, fungi were seen as adversaries, causing diseases and dysfunction in plants. However, recent insights reveal that certain fungi foster connections rather than infections. Trees' roots and fungi form a symbiotic relationship known as mycorrhiza, creating the Wood Wide Web.

This ancient partnership, spanning over 450 million years, benefits both parties. Mycorrhizae draw nourishment from trees, taking carbon-rich sugars produced during photosynthesis. In return, trees receive essential nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, extracted by fungi using enzymes trees lack.

In the world of tree interactions, scientists have unveiled a fascinating phenomenon. Trees use their distinct microbial 'identities' to favor their kin within the same species, sharing nutrients via the mycorrhizal network—a behavior known as 'kin recognition.' Multiple families of Douglas Fir trees were planted together, and carbon tracing experiments showed that trees from the same family exchanged more carbon than those from different families.

Though the reasons behind this phenomenon are still under investigation, a prevailing hypothesis suggests that all plants evolved kin recognition, potentially driven by reproductive motives. Moreover, cross-species communication occurs among different tree species sharing the same mycorrhizal network, as seen in interactions between Birch and Fir trees. This inter-species dialogue enhances the fitness and resilience of trees.

The Wood Wide Web has implications beyond simple resource exchange. It allows plants to share essential resources like sugar, nitrogen, and phosphorus. A declining tree may offer its resources for the community's benefit, while a young seedling in the shadows can receive support from its hardier neighbors.

Even more astonishingly, the network serves as a means for trees to communicate warnings. When a tree faces an aphid invasion, it signals nearby trees to activate their defense mechanisms before the aphids approach. While plants communicate above ground through airborne hormones, these warnings are more precise when conveyed through the myco-net.

Mycorrhizal networks play a vital role in safeguarding tree health during environmental threats. Specific fungi enhance a tree's resilience to stressors like predators, toxins, and invasive pathogens by employing 'allelopathy'—sending chemical signals through the mycorrhizal network. Trees can alert their neighbors to invasive predators or inhibit the growth of encroaching plant species.

In response, nearby trees release volatile hormones or chemicals to repel predators and pathogenic insects, as observed in scientific studies. Moreover, trees can emit stress signals to nearby trees following significant forest disturbances, such as deforestation.

The Wood Wide Web is an example that cooperation and communication are essential for the health and success of interconnected systems, whether in a forest or….. a modern business.

A model to follow by Life-Centered companies?