Trees may look still and silent, but they’re engaged in a constant, complex dialogue—through air, soil, and even electricity.

Mycorrhizal fungi grow on and around plant roots and form a symbiotic relationship with plants, transporting nutrients and water to host plants.

Hundreds of tubes of soil pack a row of fridges and a nearby cold room at a greenhouse facility in Lawrence, Kansas. They’re nothing much to look at, but under a microscope, tiny beads within the dirt ...