The Hidden Forest Beneath Our Feet When we walk through an ancient woodland, most of what sustains that ecosystem remains invisible. Above-ground trees compete for sunlight. Their branches stretch toward the canopy, leaves harvest energy, and roots anchor them in the soil. For decades, people saw forests as collections of individual organisms vying for scarce resources. Beneath the forest floor, however, lies a far, far more connected world. Hidden within the soil is a vast network of fungal threads that interlink with plant and tree roots. Through direct physical attachments between fungal hyphae and plant roots, this network allows for …