Answer: Connect roots of different trees, enabling carbon and nutrient transfer between trees (symbiotic network, sometimes called wood wide web).
- A They actively compete against host tree roots for water and mineral nutrients in soil, a competitive relationship rather than the mutualistic exchange that actually occurs
- B Connect roots of different trees, enabling carbon and nutrient transfer between trees (symbiotic network, sometimes called wood wide web)
- C They function mainly to absorb water from the soil, with little other ecological role, ignoring their well-documented role in inter-tree carbon and nutrient transfer
- D They form symbiotic associations mainly with young seedling trees, not mature ones, excluding the well-documented associations they form with largely mature canopy trees
Correct answer: B. Connect roots of different trees, enabling carbon and nutrient transfer between trees (symbiotic network, sometimes called wood wide web)
Explanation: Mycorrhizal networks: fungal hyphae connect multiple trees. Carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen can flow between trees (source to sink). Mother trees may preferentially support kin through these networks.
Energy pyramid showing a simple food chain (producer to herbivore to carnivore) with energy decreasing roughly tenfold at each trophic level.
Concept context
Ecosystems, food chains, energy flow, nutrient cycles, biodiversity, and conservation.