内容正文:
Birch, who led the study. When they live in the forest soil,
fungal networks act as a sort of highway, allowing water,
nutrients and compounds to flow back and forth among the
trees. The network also helps nutrients flow to resource-
limited trees like family units that support one another in
times of stress.
Cores taken from 350 Douglas firs (花旗松) showed
that annual tree ring growth was related to the extent of
fungal connections a tree had with other trees. They had
much higher growth than those that had only a few
connections. The research also showed that trees with more
connections to many unique fungi had much greater growth
than those with only one or two connections. “ If you have
this network that is helping trees grow faster, that helps
capture more carbon year after year. These networks may
help trees grow more steadily even as conditions become
more stressful, and could even help protect them against
death. ” said Birch.
Birch hopes his findings lead to further studies in
different kinds of forests in other geographical areas,
because its likely that the connections among trees change
from year to year. He said, “ Knowing whether fungal
networks are operating the same way in other tree species
could factor into how we reforest areas after harvesting
them, and it could inform how we want to plant trees to
preserve these networks. ”
5. In what way do the new findings differ from the previous
ones?
A. They confirm the benefits of fungal networks.
B. They demonstrate a new way to capture carbon.
C. They clarify misunderstanding of fungal networks.
D. They reveal the value of fungal networks to adult trees.
6. How do fungal networks help trees?
A. By fighting against diseases.
B. By bettering forest soil conditions.
C. By acting as the center of family units.
D. By maintaining the balance of resources.
7. What does the underlined “They” refer to in Paragraph 3?
A. Tree rings. B. Fungal networks.
C. Douglas firs. D. Cores from Douglas firs.
8.