Forest Discovery: Trees Trade Carbon Among Each Other

Forest trees use carbon not only for themselves; they also trade large quantities of it with their neighbours. Botanists from the University of Basel report this . The extensive carbon trade among trees - even among different species - is conducted via symbiotic fungi in the soil. It is well known that plants take up carbon dioxide from the air by photosynthesis. The resulting sugar is used to build cellulose, wood pulp (lignin), protein and lipid - the building blocks of plants. While growing, the tree transports sugar from its leaves to the building sites: to the branches, stems, roots and to their symbiotic fungi below ground (mycorrhizal fungi). Carbon dioxide shower for trees.