Study
Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the field
Simard, Suzanne W.; Perry, David A.; Jones, Melanie D.; Durall, Daniel M.; Molina, Randy
Nature, 1997
Paired birch and fir seedlings were labelled with two different carbon isotopes and covered so that the label could be traced. A non-mycorrhizal control species was included, and shading was varied.
- Studied in
- Betula papyrifera, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Thuja plicata
- Sample size
- paired trees in field plots in British Columbia
Labelled carbon moved between birch and Douglas fir in both directions, with a modest net transfer to the shaded fir. Very little reached the control species.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Carbon moves between trees of different species in the field, plausibly through shared mycorrhizal fungi.
How NatureHQ reads it
The paper that started the "wood wide web". What it showed was real and careful: a small net movement of carbon between two tree species in a forest. What it did not show — and this is where a quarter of a century of popular writing went wrong — is that trees deliberately feed one another, that fungal networks are organised for the trees' benefit, or that the amounts matter to a tree's survival. The measured net transfer was a small fraction of the fir's carbon budget.
- Transfer route inferred; the experiment could not exclude soil pathways entirely.
- Net transfer was small relative to each tree's total carbon.
- Seedlings in specific field conditions, not mature forest.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.