How to Harness the Ancient Partnership between Forests and Fungi | Colin Averill | TED

翻译人员: 校对人员: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

So we know forests play an essential role in regulating the Earth's climate.

森林是调节地球气候重要的一环。

However, most of what we know about those forests

但我们对森林的认知，

is actually based on things we can measure aboveground.

大多基于地表我们可以测量的事物。

So historically, ecologists like myself would come to this place,

以前，像我一样的 生态学家们会来到森林里，

and we’d count the number of tree stems we’d find.

计算我们能找到的树的数量，

We’d identify which species they are,

并会判定这些树木的物种。

and today we’d probably remotely sense features of this forest canopy from space.

在今天我们则会（运用卫星） 从太空来获取关于森林地表的数据。

And all of this absolutely makes sense.

这些（测量方式）都很有道理。

Aboveground is where photosynthesis happens.

地表以上才能有光合作用发生。

Photosynthesis is how carbon and energy enter forests.

通过光合作用，无机碳 和能量才能进入森林。

Photosynthesis is how trees can remove carbon dioxide

树木也是通过光合作用吸收大气中的二氧化碳。

from the atmosphere.

However, we also know most trees are limited in some way,

但大部分的树木的光合作用的过程，

by soil resources like water or nutrients.

都被土壤中是否有水分和养分限制。

And to access those resources, trees have to build roots.

树木必须要发展根才能获取这些资源，

And trees build an incredible amount of roots.

而它们所发展出的根茎系统大多非常庞大。

So in some forests, there can be as much or more biomass belowground,

所以在有些森林里， 地下根系的生物质（biomass）

in root structures,

as aboveground, in stems and leaves.

和地表的树干和树叶的生物质一样，甚至更多。

Decades of research have now made very clear

数十年的研究表明，地下生态学，

that belowground ecology --

so what’s going on in the soil -- is really essential to understanding

也就是土壤中的生态学，

对理解森林系统运作的方式至关重要。

how these forest systems work.

However, if you follow these root systems all the way out to their terminal ends,

但如果你在这些地下根系中 顺着树根一直到它们的末端，

the finest tips in the root system,

and you look closely -- I mean super closely,

非常非常仔细地观察，

like, you’re going to need a microscope closely --

用显微镜放大，

you discover a place where the tree stops being a plant,

你会发现 树根在末端的某一个位置开始不再是植物，

and starts becoming a fungus.

而变成了真菌。

So most trees on Earth form a partnership,

大部分地球上的树木都会和菌根真菌形成合作关系，

or what scientists call symbiosis,

科学家们称这种合作关系为共生（symbiosis）。

with mycorrhizal fungi.

So this, in my opinion,

这是我见过捕捉菌根真菌的最震撼人心的图片之一。

is one of the most remarkable images ever captured of these organisms.

So in the background, at the top,

在图片上半部分的背景里，

you can see this dense network of fungal hyphae.

你可以看到密密麻麻的菌丝形成的网络，

These are essentially like roots, but for fungi, instead of plants.

这些菌丝是真菌的树根。

And in the foreground,

在这些菌丝上方， 你可以看到有多个细胞核的真菌孢子。

you can see these incredible, multinucleated fungal spores,

which look totally unreal, but absolutely are.

它们看起来好像假的一样，但是是真实存在的。

These are the reproductive structures of the fungus.

这些孢子是真菌的生殖系统，

These have the potential to become entirely new fungal networks.

它们可以成长为全新的菌群。

Mycorrhizal fungi are essential

菌根真菌对植物获取有限的土壤中的资源来说至关重要。

to how basically all plants access limiting soil resources.

There's actually evidence

有证据表明，

that when plants first made the evolutionary transition

进化历史中，在植物第一次从水生转变到陆生的过程中，

from living in water to living on land,

they evolved this symbiosis before they even evolved roots.

在进化出根系前， 它们首先进化出了真菌的共生关系。

And so this partnership between forests and their fungi is ancient,

所以森林和真菌的合作关系由来已久，

and it stretches back hundreds of millions of years.

有着上百万年的历史。

However, these roots don't have to be just fungi.

其实，和树根形成共生关系的不只是真菌。

They can also be, for instance, bacteria.

也可以是，比如说，细菌。

So these circular structures in this root network

这个根系中的球形结构叫做根瘤。

are called root nodules.

They house symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

根瘤中生长着固氮的细菌。

And what these bacteria do

这些固氮细菌会把大气中的氮气

is actually convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere

into plant-usable forms,

转化成可以被植物利用的形式，

and in turn, they nurture plant growth.

从而滋养植物的生长。

And the complexity of soil biology just keeps going.

土壤生态学的复杂性远不止如此。

So these root symbionts are embedded in an even more complex network

这些根系的共生菌生活在一个错综复杂的环境里：

of free-living bacterial and fungal decomposers,

有不依附根系生活的细菌、起到分解者作用的真菌、

and archaea and protists,

古细菌、原生生物、微型动物、病毒等等。

microscopic soil animals, viruses ...

The biodiversity of soil communities is astonishing.

土壤中的生物多样性令人震惊。

We now know a handful of soil

据我们现在的知识，一捧土里面

can easily contain over 1,000 coexisting microbial species.

少说也有超过一千种微生物。

And so all of this, this is the soil microbiome.

这就是我们所说的土壤微生物群，

This is the forest microbiome, this is the ecosystem microbiome.

也是整个森林和生态系统的微生物群。

So breakthroughs in DNA sequencing technology

近年来基因测序的技术突破

have finally turned the lights on belowground.

让我们终于可以一探这些地下系统的究竟。

DNA has allowed us to see these microbial communities

我们通过DNA测序详细了解了这些微生物群，

in unprecedented detail,

and, only recently, at unprecedented scales.

并终于在近期获得了大量的数据。

Yet despite these breakthroughs,

但即使有了这些突破，

I'd argue we still don't know the answers to seemingly simple questions, like this:

我认为我们仍旧对一些看似简单的问题一无所知，比如：

"What does a healthy forest microbiome look like?"

【“健康的森林微生物群是什么样的？”】

We're far closer to answering a question like this for people

科学家在植物微生物群的研究进度，

than we are for plants.

远不及人类微生物群，

The Human Microbiome Project has really led in this area.

这其中人类微生物组计划起到了领军作用。

So the human body is a microbial ecosystem.

我们知道人体其实也是一个微生物的生态系统。

Each of us houses an incredibly biodiverse community of bacteria in our gut,

我们每一个人都有数量和种类庞大的肠道菌群，

and that has a profound impact on our health.

这个群菌对我们的健康有着很大的影响。

This was discovered by medical microbiologists

医用微生物学家们

using DNA sequencing to characterize which bacteria

运用DNA测序检测了几百人的肠道菌群 并确定了这些细菌的种类，

live in hundreds of people's bodies.

And importantly, also noting health features of those same people.

同时他们也记录了这些被试的健康状况。

So, are they sick? And if so, with what?

这些人生病了吗？如果是，他们得了什么病？

What's their blood pressure, their digestive health,

他们的血压怎么样？消化还好吗？

their mental health?

心理健康又如何？

And by combining all of that information,

在集合了这所有的信息之后，

those microbiologists could begin to identify

微生物学家们开始找出

combinations of bacteria linked to health and disease.

肠道菌群的种类和健康和疾病之间的关联。

And these analyses became a road map

这些研究为人类菌群移植治疗的发展奠定了基础。

for the development of human microbiome transplant therapies,

which is essentially ecosystem restoration,

这种治疗其实和生态系统修复很类似，

but for your gut microbiome.

只不过修复的是肠道菌群。

And these therapies are now on the road to market

菌群移植治疗目前正在向临床发展 有望被应用于疾病的治疗。

to treat some of these diseases today.

And so drawing from this work, my team asked,

被这些研究启发，我的团队开始思考：

"What would it look like

“把人类微生物计划的研究方式运用到森林中会怎么样？”

to take the Human Microbiome Project approach,

but apply it to the forest?”

What could we discover about the forest carbon cycle?

我们能不能对森林碳循环有更多了解？

Could we identify places

我们是否能找到并干预需要修复的地下微生物群，

where we could actually do belowground microbial restoration,

and, in the process, combat climate change?

（修复森林）来应对气候变化？

Over the past three years,

在过去的三年里，

we’ve been working with forest scientists across Europe

我们和欧洲的森林科学家们携手研究了这些问题。

to do exactly that.

In each of these locations,

在这里显示的每一个位置，

scientists have been documenting forest health for decades.

科学家们都有着数十年森林健康状况的记录。

And so, we asked our forest research partners

我们让合作的科学家们

to go out to each of these forests

去到这些森林，收集土壤样本，

and collect a small sample of soil,

which they then shipped back to our lab in Zurich

并寄到我们在苏黎世的实验室。

so we could extract and sequence DNA,

这样我们就可以提取测序土壤中的DNA，

which allowed us to understand which microorganisms,

来研究有哪些微生物，

and particularly fungi,

尤其是真菌，

live in each of these forests.

栖息在这些森林中。

And then finally, we used statistics and machine learning

最后，我们利用统计学和机器学习，

to relate which microorganisms live in a forest

来寻找有哪些微生物

to a really important forest health metric:

和森林的健康指数息息相关。

tree growth rate

这些健康指数包括：树木生长速度 和地表的固碳率。

and carbon-capture rate aboveground.

Now, once we controlled for the environmental drivers of tree growth --

在控制影响树木生长的环境变量情况下，

so how warm and wet each of these places is,

包括每一个实验地的温度、湿度，

as well as other variables we know control background site fertility --

和其他对土壤肥沃度有影响的因素。

we discovered that particularly which fungi colonize

我们发现树木根系中的共生真菌的种类

the roots of these trees

is linked to threefold variation in how fast these trees grow,

对于树木生长率

how fast they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

和固碳速率都有着三倍的影响。

So put another way,

换句话说，

these correlations imply that you could have two pine forests,

如果你比较两片位置相邻

sitting side by side,

experiencing the same climate, growing in the same soils.

有同样的气候和土壤环境的松林，

But if one of them was colonized

如果其中一片森林有健康的共生菌群，

by the right community of fungi on its roots,

it could be growing up to three times as fast as that adjacent forest.

这片森林会有隔壁森林三倍的生长速度。

And furthermore, these patterns were not driven

更重要的是，能够促进森林生长的

by the presence of particularly high-performing species or strains,

并不是特定种类的真菌，

but instead, they were driven by biodiverse and completely different

而是有着丰富生物多样性，但种类却不尽相同的菌群。

communities of fungi.

And so these fungal signatures are super exciting to us

这项关于真菌的发现令人激动，

because they imply an opportunity to manage,

因为这意味着我们有可能控制，

and in many cases, actually rewild the forest fungal microbiome.

并有很大机会修复森林的微生物群。

So, for example, can we reintroduce fungal biodiversity

打个比方，我们是否可以往工业原料林里，

into a managed timber forestry landscape?

重新引进有多样性的真菌菌群？

And in the process, can we make those trees grow faster?

我们能否帮助这些树木生长得更快？

Can we make them capture more carbon in their tree stems and in their soils?

我们能否加快这些树木的在树干和土壤的固碳率？

Can we rewild the soil and combat climate change?

我们能否修复土壤的生物多样性，延缓气候变化？

And these aren't just rhetorical questions --

这些并不仅仅是虚无缥缈的假设，

we've actually started doing this.

我们的团队已经开始了尝试。

So this is one of our field trials in Wales, in the United Kingdom.

这是我们在英国威尔士的一片实验区。

It’s run in collaboration with the charity there

我们和当地一家叫做carbon community的慈善机构 共同管理着这片区域。

called the Carbon Community.

It’s 28 acres, or 11 hectares,

这片实验区占地28英亩，也就是11公顷。

and it's set up as a block-randomized controlled trial.

被划分成区块随机分到实验组和对照组，

This is analogous to how you would run a drug trial,

这和药物开发的实验相似，

but in this case, it's for trees instead of people.

但这里我们实验的对象是树而不是人。

And here, we do a pretty straightforward experiment.

我们在这片区域做的实验很简单：

We either plant trees, business as usual --

我们要么就是直接种树， 和一般的方法一样，

which is just direct planting of seedlings into the ground --

把树苗埋到土里；

or we plant trees, and at the moment of planting,

或者我们在种树的同时，

we add a small handful of soil.

往里面加一小捧土。

But it's not just any soil.

我们所添加的并不是寻常的土，

It's soil sourced from a forest

而是从我们之前的实验中

our analyses have identified as harboring potentially high-performing fungi.

找到的有着健康菌群的森林的土壤。

So since we reintroduced microbial biodiversity

从我们在这些实验区域重新引入了微生物多样性之后，

into some of these sites,

we've observed that where we actually did that,

我们观察到，

we've been able to accelerate tree growth and carbon capture in tree stems

根据树的种类，树木的生长速度和固碳率

by 30 to 70 percent, depending on the tree species.

有百分之30到70的提高。

Or put another way --

换句话说，

where we manipulated and rewilded the invisible microbiology of this place,

我们用干预”看不见“的微生物的方式

we’ve begun to change how that entire place works.

完全改变了这个生态体系的运作方式。

Now it's important to emphasize

在这里我们要强调，

that we're really excited about these findings,

尽管这些发现令人激动，

but we also understand they're still early.

我们还在研究的初期阶段。

We want to see many more large-scale field trials

我们需要收集更多，更大范围的实验区域的数据，

and many more locations with many more years of data.

也需要来自于更多地理位置，更多年的数据。

However, beyond just these carbon and climate outcomes,

除了对碳排放和气候的影响，

I think the most exciting thing here

我认为这项发现最令人激动的地方，

is that we can actually do this with wild and native and biodiverse

是我们可以利用自然生长、生物多样的微生物群。

combinations of microorganisms.

And while we pointed this approach at forestry,

虽然我们的初衷是修复森林，

in principle, this kind of science has the potential to generalize

但理论上这些发现也有潜力被应用到所有人为管理的地貌环境。

to all of our managed landscapes.

We can begin asking questions like,

我们可以开始提出类似的问题：

"What does a healthy agricultural microbiome look like?"

【“健康的农业微生物群应该是怎样的？”】

Thinking across both food and forest agriculture.

来运用到农业和林业中。

And there's reason to think a biodiversity-first approach

重视生物多样性的修复方式

may be particularly powerful here.

另一个很有潜力的原因，

And that’s because the history of agriculture

是由于农业在历史的发展过程中

has been an exercise in reductionism.

往往是做减法的。

We've identified high-performing plant species,

我们一直在寻找高产的作物种类和品系，

and then strains,

and then we’ve selectively bred them,

筛选、培育、并改良他们的基因，

and now we genetically modify them.

And finally, we plant those organisms out in vast monocultures.

然后我们大面积地单一栽培这些作物。

So a single plant species as far as you can see.

也就是说，这些作物都是单一的品种。

And to be clear,

在这里要澄清一点，

this has produced very productive agroecosystems.

历史上的这种做法孕育了非常高效的农业生态系统。

But it's also produced ecosystems

但我们开始发现，

we’re coming to understand are remarkably fragile.

这些生态系统也同时非常的脆弱。

Systems increasingly sensitive to extreme climate events,

它们对极端气候和新的病原都异常敏感，

novel pathogens.

Systems incredibly reliant on chemical inputs,

非常依赖化学药物的投放，

we're coming to understand have really serious externalities.

而这些药物（对环境和生态系统等）有着严重的副作用。

So we now have the data, computational tools

现在我们有了数据，计算工具

and the ecological theory to start going the other way,

和生态理论的支持，

to lean into biodiversity and complexity.

可以取生物多样性和复杂性为己用。

And once we do, the question really becomes,

一旦我们这样做了，我们面对的问题就变成了，

by rewilding our soils,

如果我们重新引进自然的土壤，

can we make our managed food and forest landscapes

我们能否重塑农林业微生物群的生物多样性？

reservoirs of belowground biodiversity?

And in the process,

在这个过程中，

can we enhance yields and carbon capture

我们是否可以提高（作物）产量、（森林）固碳率

and all the other services we ask of these ecosystems?

和其他这些生态系统的功效？

I think there's a lot of reason to be incredibly hopeful here.

我认为我们有很多对这个研究抱以期待的理由。

And I think we also shouldn't be so surprised

这些微观生物对整个庞大的生态系统的影响力，

that these microscopic organisms have the potential

for such enormous, ecosystem-scale effects.

其实也应该是意料之中。

And that’s because we’ve known now, really for a long time,

因为我们其实早就理解了，

that forests are fungi.

森林中真菌的重要性。

And they’re incredibly biodiverse communities of bacteria and archaea

森林中也有种类繁多的细菌、古细菌、

and protists and microscopic soil animals and viruses.

原生生物、微观动物和病毒。

Soil is the literal foundation of terrestrial ecosystems,

土壤是森林生态系统的基础，

and the microbial life that inhabits soil

土壤中的微生物

represents some of the most complex and biodiverse

是地球上最复杂也多样的生态群落之一。

communities of life on Earth.

For the first time,

DNA测序史无前例地推进了我们对地下生态学的认知，

DNA sequencing is turning the lights on belowground.

It’s allowing us to see these organisms in unprecedented detail

我们对这些微生物有了更详细、更全面的了解。

and at unprecedented scales.

Imagine studying plant biology,

这就好比如果你在学习植物学，

but you never really knew if you're looking at a sequoia tree

但由于技术限制，你以前一直不知道你研究的是美洲杉

or a sphagnum moss.

还是泥炭苔藓。

And then, all of a sudden, you did.

然后突然（技术突破），你知道了你在研究的是什么。

That's what's happening right now in global environmental microbiology.

这就是环境微生物学的现状。

And so we should expect this revolution

因此我们可以展望，

in our understanding of these microscopic organisms,

我们在近年对微生物的认知发展，

and particularly fungi,

尤其是对于真菌的研究，

to transform how we understand and how we manage our ecosystems

将会从根本上转变我们理解和管理生态系统的方式。

in a foundational way.

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Cheers and applause)

（掌声和欢呼）