A third of the carbon sequestration in the world is under your feet in the form of fungi.
are a cornerstone of woodland ecosystems. Yet they are often overlooked, as so much fungal activity carries on unseen beneath the surface of the forest floor. Even the more conspicuous fruiting bodies, mushrooms and toadstools, represent only a tiny glimpse of the main body of the fungus. There is a vast network called the mycelium, made up of fungal threads (hyphae) carrying out their essential work in wood and soil. Yet the lives of plants, those more obvious members of the woodland community, are intimately bound up with, and dependent on, those of fungi.
Mycorrhizal partnerships are <>symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationships between plants and fungi, which take place around the plant's roots. While there are many species of fungus which do not form these partnerships, the vast majority of land plants have mycorrhizas (from the Greek mykes: fungus and rhiza: root), and many plants could not survive without them. Fossil records show that roots evolved alongside fungal partners and that fungi may have been crucial in helping plants evolve to colonise the land, hundreds of millions of years ago.
Benefits to the fungal partner
The fungus within a mycorrhiza receives sugars from its plant host. Since fungi do not photosynthesise (produce their own energy from the sun) and most plants do, the plant becomes a vital source of energy for the fungus. Certain mycorrhizas will actually live inside the plant's root, so the plant can also help isolate them from competitors.
Benefits to the plant
Fungi transfer essential minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorus from decaying organic matter to the plant. They are able to use chemicals (enzymes) to break down substances which plants cannot use unaided, such as cellulose, thus making more nutrients available to the plant. The countless hyphae extending from the plant's roots also increase the overall area of nutrient and water uptake. These fungal threads can be very fine, branching between soil particles, and even exploring the shells of dead insects!
Some mycorrhizas may speed plant growth, stimulate fine root development and lengthen the life of the roots. They can also protect plants from drought, >predators (such as nematode worms), and pathogens (micro-organisms that cause disease). Furthermore, in areas polluted by toxic heavy metals, fungi can buffer their plant partners against harm. A diversity of fungi is valuable, as different fungi will specialise in the various functions mentioned above, so one species may be good at taking up particular nutrients, while another will be better at producing enzymes.
You might not see the fungi at GZ but their friend is here holding the cache