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

🧾️ Download transcript

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.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants Podcast, the official podcast of IndefensivePlants.com.
0:05.2	What's up, this is your host Matt, welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week?
0:09.2	I am doing great because I am talking today to Dr. Melanie Jones who is here to kind of break down
0:14.6	what is colloquially referred to as the wood wide web and we're going to discuss how much of it
0:19.2	is actually supported by science. I know many of you will be familiar with this term or some
0:23.7	portion of this story of trees sharing and caring for each other in this wonderful kumbaya,
0:28.8	cooperative all through micro eyes on networks in the soil. Well, when you look at the science,
0:34.1	the story is not that straightforward and in fact a lot of what is sort of perpetuated in the media
0:41.2	really isn't supported. But Dr. Jones is really good at explaining all of this. She studies
0:46.5	micro eyes on networks and has done for many, many years. She is the perfect person to sit down
0:51.2	and talk to you about this. But before we get to that, I just want to say if you're joined
0:54.4	conversations like this, they cannot happen without your support. There's a lot of ways to support
0:58.4	this show. One of the best is to pick up some of our customizable merch. You can find the links to
1:02.7	that over at indefenseaplans.com. Just look in the show notes or click on a peril at the top of the
1:06.8	screen. They're customizable designs. So you can always find a style that fits you and again,
1:11.3	it helps keep this show up and running. But that is entirely enough for me. I don't want to keep you
1:15.6	from this important conversation because it really shines a light on how even scientists can fall
1:19.6	victim to really seductive stories. So without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Melanie
1:25.8	Jones. I hope you enjoy.
1:40.3	All right, Dr. Melanie Jones, welcome to the podcast. It is an honor to have you here. I can't tell
1:44.9	you how excited I am to talk to you about this topic today. But for those that aren't familiar
1:48.8	with your work, let's start off with an introduction. Tell everyone a little bit about who you are
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from In Defense of Plants, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of In Defense of Plants and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.