Tiniest Woodland Animals Play Critical Role in Keeping Forests Healthy

DURHAM — Robust forest growth and regeneration are critical to ensuring economic sustainability of New Hampshire's timber industry. And it is the tiniest of woodland animals that play an essential role in keeping forests healthy and thriving, according to new research from the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.

Ryan Stephens, lead researcher of the experiment station-funded project, explained that in New England, all trees form a mutually beneficial relationship with either arbuscular mycorrhizal or ectomycorrhizal fungi, which produce fruiting bodies that occur below ground (truffles) or above ground on the forest floor (mushrooms).