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Earth's Systems / Biological processes / Terrestrial ecosystem functioning / Living soil system / Saprotrophic fungi / Cord-forming mycelial networks: foraging, translocation and rerouting

Cord-forming mycelial networks: foraging, translocation and rerouting

How wood-decay fungi that form cords and rhizomorphs search for new litter, thicken links to food, move carbon and nutrients between patches, prune unused links, and reroute flow when the network is grazed or cut.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Cord-forming basidiomycetes (Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare) explore soil as fans of fine hyphae from a resource base

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Fungi import soil nitrogen into N-poor surface litter and speed its decomposition (fungal translocation in no-till residue); After grazing or cutting, redundant loops reroute transport and the network stays connected

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESMyceliumCord-formingfungiPhanerochaetevelutinaHypholomafasciculareMycelial cordsOtherparticipantsCarbonNitrogenLitterPhosphorusImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Patch encounteredImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Source-sink gradient drives Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Imported N reaches N-poor liImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · moderate · 0.25 More decay suImpact -2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Unused links are prunedImpact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Redundant loops are keptImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Biomass built from imported Impact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Network persists after damagCord-forming basidiomycetes (Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare) explore soil as fans of fine hyphae from a resource base: uses CarbonCord-forming basidiomycetes (Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare) explore soil as fans of fine hyphae from a resource base: uses LitterReaching a nutrient-rich patch triggers hyphal proliferation there and thickening of cords back to the base: uses NitrogenReaching a nutrient-rich patch triggers hyphal proliferation there and thickening of cords back to the base: uses LitterReaching a nutrient-rich patch triggers hyphal proliferation there and thickening of cords back to the base: uses PhosphorusCords and rhizomorphs translocate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus over decimetres to metres, driven by source-sink gradients: uses CarbonCords and rhizomorphs translocate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus over decimetres to metres, driven by source-sink gradients: uses NitrogenCords and rhizomorphs translocate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus over decimetres to metres, driven by source-sink gradients: uses PhosphorusFungi import soil nitrogen into N-poor surface litter and speed its decomposition (fungal translocation in no-till residue): uses NitrogenFungi import soil nitrogen into N-poor surface litter and speed its decomposition (fungal translocation in no-till residue): uses up Litteruses upUnused links are pruned and their contents recycled, concentrating flux on productive paths: uses CarbonUnused links are pruned and their contents recycled, concentrating flux on productive paths: uses NitrogenAfter grazing or cutting, redundant loops reroute transport and the network stays connected: uses Carbonforaged out fromresource baseCarbon: foraged out from resource baseexplored by fine hyphalfansLitter: explored by fine hyphal fansdrives hyphalproliferation to patchesNitrogen: drives hyphal proliferation to patchescolonized byproliferating hyphaeLitter: colonized by proliferating hyphaetriggers proliferationin rich patchesPhosphorus: triggers proliferation in rich patchestranslocated over metresby cordsCarbon: translocated over metres by cordsmoved along source-sinkgradientsNitrogen: moved along source-sink gradientstransported overdecimetres to metresPhosphorus: transported over decimetres to metresimported into N-poorlitterNitrogen: imported into N-poor litterdecomposed faster afternitrogen importLitter: decomposed faster after nitrogen importrecycled from prunedlinksCarbon: recycled from pruned linksrecycled to productivepathsNitrogen: recycled to productive pathsrerouted around damagedloopsCarbon: rerouted around damaged loopsStart: Cord-formingmycelial networks:foraging, translocati…STARTStart: Cord-forming mycelial networks: foraging, translocation and reroutingEnd: Cord-formingmycelial networks:foraging, translocati…ENDEnd: Cord-forming mycelial networks: foraging, translocation and reroutingCord-formingbasidiomycetes(Phanerochae…📄1Cord-forming basidiomycetes (Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare) explore soil as fans of fine hyphae from a resource baseReaching anutrient-rich patchtriggers hyph…📄1Reaching a nutrient-rich patch triggers hyphal proliferation there and thickening of cords back to the baseCords and rhizomorphstranslocate carbon,nitrogen and phosphor…📄1Cords and rhizomorphs translocate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus over decimetres to metres, driven by source-sink gradientsFungi import soilnitrogen into N-poorsurface litter a…📄1Fungi import soil nitrogen into N-poor surface litter and speed its decomposition (fungal translocation in no-till residue)Unused links are prunedand their contentsrecycled, concentrati…📄1Unused links are pruned and their contents recycled, concentrating flux on productive pathsAfter grazing orcutting, redundantloops reroute transpo…📄1After grazing or cutting, redundant loops reroute transport and the network stays connected
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Cord-forming basidiomycetes (Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare) explore soil as fans of fine hyphae from a resource base
Phanerochaete velutinaHypholoma fasciculareCarbonLitter
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Boddy 1999, Mycologia 91:13: Foraging mycelia form search fans that explore soil beyond the colonized resource. (confidence 0.85)
Reaching a nutrient-rich patch triggers hyphal proliferation there and thickening of cords back to the base
Cord-forming fungiNitrogenPhosphorusLitter
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Fricker, Boddy & Bebber 2007, in Howard & Gow (eds), Biology of the Fungal Cell, Springer, Network organisation of mycelial fungi: Links to successful patches are reinforced while the search front elsewhere remains sparse. (confidence 0.6)
Cords and rhizomorphs translocate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus over decimetres to metres, driven by source-sink gradients
Mycelial cordsCarbonNitrogenPhosphorus
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Wells & Boddy 1990, New Phytologist 116:285, Wood decay, and phosphorus and fungal biomass allocation, in mycelial cord systems: Radiolabelled phosphorus was moved through cords between wood blocks and soil over tens of centimetres. (confidence 0.75)
Fungi import soil nitrogen into N-poor surface litter and speed its decomposition (fungal translocation in no-till residue)
Saprotrophic fungiSurface residueNitrogenLitter
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Frey, Elliott, Paustian & Bethlenfalvay 2000, Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32:689, Fungal translocation as a mechanism for soil nitrogen inputs to surface residue decomposition in a no-tillage agroecosystem: Labelled 15N moved from soil into surface residue through fungal hyphae. (confidence 0.75)
Unused links are pruned and their contents recycled, concentrating flux on productive paths
MyceliumCarbonNitrogen
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Bebber, Hynes, Darrah, Boddy & Fricker 2007, Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274:2307, Biological solutions to transport network design: Mycelial networks reinforce used links and prune others, giving efficient, resilient topology. (confidence 0.8)
After grazing or cutting, redundant loops reroute transport and the network stays connected
MyceliumGrazing faunaCarbon
Evidence (1) · added by Ember
  • Fricker, Bebber & Boddy 2008, in Boddy, Frankland & van West (eds), Ecology of Saprotrophic Basidiomycetes, Elsevier, Mycelial networks: structure and dynamics: Looped network structure gives fault tolerance to damage. (confidence 0.65)