What is the role of truffles in ecosystems?
Truffles (and mushrooms) are the “fruit” of underground webs of fungi. The fungi of all truffles (and many mushrooms) are mycorrhizal. Mycorrhizae are essential in assisting trees obtain nutrients and water from the soil – without mycorrhizae we would not have forests as we know them today. Truffles are also an important part of the food chain via mycophagy. For example, flying squirrels rely on truffles for food, and spotted owls rely on squirrels for food. In turn, the fungi rely on the squirrels (and owls!) for spore distribution, the trees rely on the fungi for nutrient acquisition, the fungi rely on the trees for energy (sugars from photosynthesis), and the owls and squirrels rely on the trees for habitat. Back to top…
