The Forest That Feeds Its Own

In the old-growth forests of British Columbia, ecologist Suzanne Simard discovered something remarkable beneath the soil. Towering Douglas firs are connected by an underground web of fungal threads called mycorrhizal networks — what researchers now call the "wood wide web." Through these hidden channels, mature trees funnel carbon, water, and nutrients to struggling seedlings nearby. When a young tree is shaded and starving, an older tree will redirect its own hard-won sugars to keep that sapling alive.…