![]() ![]() In well-developed ecosystems soil would be rapidly sluiced off by rain were it not for the dense mesh of fungal tissue that holds it together. ![]() When volcanic islands are made or glaciers retreat to reveal bare rock, lichens (pronounced LY ken) – a union of fungi and algae or bacteria – are the first organisms to establish themselves and to make the soil in which plants subsequently take root. To this day, new ecosystems on land are founded by fungi. ![]() ![]() Today, more than ninety percent of plants depend on mycorrhizal fungi – from the Greek words for fungus (mykes) and root (rhiza) – which can link trees in shared networks sometimes referred to as the "wood wide web." This ancient association gave rise to all recognizable life on land, the future of which depends on the continued ability of plants and fungi to form healthy relationships. Plants only made it out of the water around five hundred million years ago because of their collaboration with fungi, which served as their root systems for tens of million years until plants could evolve their own. Many of the most dramatic events on Earth have been – and continue to be –a result of fungal activity. Read an excerpt from "Entangled Life" below, and don't miss Conor Knighton's interview with Merlin Sheldrake on "CBS Sunday Morning" February 7! Biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake's book, "Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures" (Random House), explores the fascinating relationships between humans and the fungal organisms upon which so much of life on Earth depends. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |