Do Trees Communicate with Each Other?树木之间会互相交流吗？

For many years， scientists thought trees live on their own. Each tree in the forestwas trying to get light， water， and nutrients1. But scientists find that trees may worktogether—with the help of fungi2.

多年以来，科学家认为树木是独立生存的。森林中的每棵树都试图获得阳光、水和养分。但是科学家发现树木可以在真菌的帮助下共同合作。

Fungi are small living things. They are not plants or animals， but break downdecaying3 matter and use it for food. In forests， fungi connect4 trees throughunderground networks5. Trees’roots6 grow out in all ways. The same soil is home tofungi， which can grow on and around tree roots. The fungi make webs between treesknown as mycorrhizal7 networks.

真菌是微小的生物。它们不是植物也不是动物，但可以分解腐烂的物质并将其用作食物。在森林中，真菌通过地下网络连接起树木。树木的根朝各个方向生长。同样的土壤也是真菌的家园，真菌可以在树根上面和周围生长。真菌在树木之间结网，称为菌根网络。

In these networks， scientists think the trees and the fungi help one another. Thetrees give sugars made during photosynthesis8 to the fungi. The fungi get mineral9nutrients from the soil. They share them with the tree.

在这些网络中，科学家认为树木和真菌互惠互利。树木将光合作用产生的糖分提供给真菌。真菌从土壤中获取矿质营养。它们和树木分享这些营养。

The fungi in a mycorrhizal network connect the trees together. Trees can sharesugars， nutrients， and water with one another. For example， if a small tree is growingin a shaded10 area， it may not get enough sunlight for photosynthesis. However， largertrees growing around it can send sugar to the young trees through the fungi. If a treeis dying， it might give its nutrients to the healthy trees growing around it.

菌根网络中的真菌将树木彼此连接在一起。树木之间可以互相分享糖分、养分和水分。例如，如果一棵小树生长在阴暗的地方，它可能无法获得足够的阳光进行光合作用。然而，生长在它周围的大树可以通过真菌将糖分传递给小树。如果一棵树快死了，它可能会把养分提供给周围健康生长的树木。

Some plants will use the networks to take nutrients from their neighbors. Treesalso send messages by mycorrhizal networks. Networks can even connect differentkinds of plants. For example， fungi might connect a tree to a flower. Scientists thinkmycorrhizal networks are important for healthy forests. While the fungi are meetingtheir own needs， they are also helping trees to stay healthy.

有些植物会利用该网络从邻居那里拿走养分。树木也通过菌根网络传递信息。这些网络甚至可以连接不同种类的植物。例如，真菌可能会把树和花联系在一起。科学家认为菌根网络对一片健康的森林很重要。真菌在满足自身需求的同时，也在帮助树木保持健康。

（英语原文选自：wonderopolis.org）