Study
Saprotrophic cord-forming fungi: meeting the challenge of heterogeneous environments
Boddy, Lynne
Mycologia, 1999
A synthesis of soil-tray microcosm experiments and field observations of how wood-decay fungi extend mycelial cords through soil to find new resources, and how the network is remodelled once a resource is found.
- Studied in
- Phanerochaete velutina, Hypholoma fasciculare
- Sample size
- synthesis of microcosm and field studies of mycelial foraging
Mycelia search outward in a broadly radial pattern, then reinforce the connections leading to discovered food and withdraw material from unproductive directions — a network that continually rebuilds itself according to what it has found.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Cord-forming fungi solve a foraging problem through network remodelling rather than through directed movement.
How NatureHQ reads it
This is the work that makes the phrase "fungal intelligence" tempting and shows why it is the wrong word. There is no centre, no signal being sent to a decision-maker and no representation of the problem — there is local reinforcement of what works and local withdrawal from what does not, and the result is efficient allocation without anything doing the allocating. That is a more interesting fact than intelligence would be.
- Microcosms simplify soil enormously; real soil is structured and full of competitors.
- A few species of temperate wood-decay fungi dominate the evidence.
- Network efficiency is measured against idealised optima that a fungus is not attempting to reach.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Wiley journalsPublished in a Wiley journal.
doi.org/10.1080/00275514.1999.12060990
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.