Ep. 425 - What Data Tell Us About the "Wood Wide Web"

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Natural Sciences, Ecology, Nature, Plants, Botany, Science

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The concept of the wood wide web in which trees are connected with one another via underground fungal networks has captured imaginations around the globe. The idea that trees may be sharing resources and communicating in seemingly altruistic ways is enticing, but is it true? The data suggest that this is more journalistic fiction than fact. Joining us is Dr. Melanie Jones who has spent her entire career studying common mycorrhizal networks. Join us as we take a data-driven look at the reality of what data tell us about the so-called "wood wide web." This episode was produced in part by Jamie, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of
0:03.9	Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? I am doing great because I am talking today to Dr. Melanie Jones, who is here to kind of break down what is colloquially referred to as the Wood Wide Web, and we're going to discuss how much of it is actually supported by science.
0:21.4	I know many of you will be familiar with this term or some portion of this story of
0:25.1	trees sharing and caring for each other and this wonderful kumbaya cooperative all through
0:30.1	micro-isal networks in the soil. Well, when you look at the science, the story is not that
0:36.1	straightforward, and in fact, a lot of what is
0:38.2	sort of perpetuated in the media really isn't supported. But Dr. Jones is really good at
0:44.9	explaining all of this. She studies micro-Isaid networks and has done for many, many years.
0:49.9	She is the perfect person to sit down and talk to you about this. But before we get to that,
0:53.1	I just want to say if you're enjoying conversations like this, they cannot happen without your support. There's a lot of ways to support this show. One of the best is to pick up some of our customizable merch. You can find the links to that over at indefensible plans.com. Just look in the show notes or click on apparel at the top of the screen. They're customizable designs. So you can always find a style that fits you,
1:11.0	and again, it helps keep this show up and running. But that is entirely enough for me. I don't
1:15.2	want to keep you from this important conversation because it really shines a light on how
1:18.5	even scientists can fall victim to really seductive stories. So without further ado,
1:23.4	here's my conversation with Dr. Melanie Jones. I hope you enjoy.
1:40.2	Music Here's my conversation with Dr. Melanie Jones. I hope you enjoy. All right, Dr. Melanie Jones, welcome to the podcast. It is an honor to have you here. I can't tell you how excited I am to talk to you about this topic today. But for those that aren't familiar with your work, let's start off with an introduction. Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
1:54.6	Sure. My name is Melanie Jones, and I'm a professor of biology at the University of British Columbia campus that's in the
2:05.4	Okinawagon Valley.
2:06.8	But that's a beautiful area?
2:08.6	Yeah, it's a pretty nice place to be able to hang out, that's for sure.
2:13.0	Nice.
2:14.6	Yeah, so my research really, starting with my PhD, has been on Microrizal Associations.
2:24.8	And just for some of your listeners that may not know what that is, pretty well, all plants.
	...

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