Mycorrhizae are now known to occur in some 80 per cent of flowering plants, including all major edible human crops, playing a crucial role in the vitality of both plant and soil.103 In exchange for the mineral-rich nutrition that plants receive directly from fungi, they provide carbohydrates in return, in the form of sugary exudates secreted from their roots. Mycorrhizae thus represent a nutritional exchange in which plants and fungi trade sugars and minerals to their mutual benefit.
