Passages uresuyatuk uopes of hyphae) connect the foundation tree with other trees-like an express stop on a subway system where lots of local trains come through-and the bigger the tree, the larger the hub. That's because the largest trees have the greatest root system, and the more roots there are, the more real estate there is for the fungus to colonize -In one forest, we found 47 trees linked by two species of fungi composed of 12 individuals," said Simard. (B)individuals, shemeans two genetically distinct fungal entities.) "Talk about two degrees of separation!" Even nonphotosynthesizing plants take advantage of "the hub:"Parasites like the Indian pipe depend totally on mycorrhizal fungi for its nutritive needs. It taps into the nutrients and water provided by the mycorrhizae and connects via the mycorrhizae to a photosynthesizing plant for sugar. Despite the fact that fungi are microscopic organisms the functions they perform are often on an ecosystem or landscape scale. Ifyou could take an x-ray look at the soil, you'd see that underneath the forest duff there is a layer of mycorrhizal mycellum running between, on, and in the roots of plants.It's like a stratum of life between the duff and the soll that holds water and nutrients in the ground. And when that stratumis disrupted,or not present, plants suffer. In fact.ecosystems with inadequate mycomtizal fungican experience catastrophic losses of plant biomass. Which of the following statements, if true, would most WEAKEN the claim made by the author in the highlighted lines of the passage? F Overa three-year span.two forests with different tree types increase the amount of I'mycorrhizal mycellum at the same rate. G mycorthizal mycellum bothlost the majority of their plant Over a three-year span, two forests with the same amount of biomass. H Duringagivenyear, after the majority of mycorrhizal mycellum diesina forest the plants in the forests flourish.