Interdependent and interbeing includes myriad forms - even seemingly 'socialist' and 'capitalist'

"We thought trees and fungi were socialist, but they’re actually capitalist"

By Rachel Feltman May 26, 2014

"The coexistence between trees and fungi is supposed to be very peaceful. 

Fungi grow on the roots   of a plant, providing nitrogen to it in exchange

for carbon, in a nearly perfect symbiotic exchange. Each individual fungus, 

traditional wisdom holds, works in tune with the root it grows in tandem 

with. But a new study presents a different model: The supposed buddies 

are actually acting like buyers and sellers in a capitalist market.

1

Led by IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management researcher 

Oskar Franklin  , the Swedish study (paywall) started

with a surprising observation. Root fungi were actually working 

to maintain nitrogen scarcity in the forest. When less nitrogen 

was available in the soil, fungi gave up less nitrogen to the trees. 

But when nitrogen was abundant, they built up their stores like 

speculators cornering the market in a commodity, effectively 

forcing the trees to get their nitrogen from the fungi no matter what.

+

“The new theory pictures a more business-like relationship among 

multiple buyers and sellers connected in a network,” Franklin said 

in a press release. Instead of being a cooperative trade of carbon and 

nitrogen between organisms, trees are forced to export large amounts 

of carbon in order to unlock nitrogen stores from the fungi."

For the full article see:

http://qz.com/213046/we-thought-trees-and-fungi-were-socialist-but-theyre-actually-capitalist/