Trees talk to each other through a hidden internet

Trees talk to each other underground. They are linked by mycorrhizal fungi, a vast web of fungal threads in the soil that scientists call the Wood Wide Web. Through this network, a mother tree can send sugars and chemical warning signals to its seedlings. When one tree is attacked by insects, it releases defensive chemicals and its neighbours boost their own defences. Experiments showed Douglas firs transferring carbon to birch trees in shade. The forest is not a collection of individuals, but a cooperative, connected superorganism.