BioComm Community Network · openmyconet.de
Listen to
the Forest
A citizen science project in the making: a system that can be networked worldwide to record electrical activity in mycorrhizal and fungal networks. The activity is measurable — the question is what its patterns mean.
Beneath our feet, fungi form extensive networks and interact with plants, microorganisms and their environment — mycorrhizal associations have accompanied terrestrial plants for hundreds of millions of years and play important roles in nutrient exchange and ecosystem processes. Fungi also show measurable electrical activity whose significance remains largely open: what do these patterns represent, how do they change under different conditions, and can they be linked to specific biological processes?
This is where OpenMycoNet begins — not with an assumption, but with a method: we record electrical activity under many different real-world conditions, document its environmental context, and compare it across locations, substrates and seasons. This breadth is hard for any single laboratory to achieve — a distributed citizen science network can help create it.
Explore the science in depth →BioComm is being developed as the technical platform for standardized measurement, contextual recording and controlled experimental stimulation.
How BioComm works →Possible research directions
What could these measurements eventually show? The following are research directions, not established results — whether and how far they hold up depends on which reproducible patterns are actually found in the data.
Precision agriculture
Could recurring electrical patterns be associated with drought stress, nutrient availability or other changes in the plant–fungus–soil system? If robust relationships can be demonstrated, bioelectrical measurements might one day complement existing agricultural monitoring methods and help detect changes earlier.
First find the pattern. Then test what it means.
Forest monitoring
Could changes in fungal or mycorrhizal electrical activity provide additional information about changing environmental conditions in forests? Long-term measurements across different sites could help determine whether reproducible relationships exist between electrical patterns and factors such as drought, temperature or disturbance.
A possible additional signal from an ecosystem we currently monitor mostly from the outside.
Soil regeneration
BioComm can not only measure fungal networks but also deliver targeted electrical or optical stimulation and measure the response — whether and how this works remains open.
Not an assumed dialogue with the soil — an experimentally testable interaction.
Climate and soil processes
Mycorrhizal fungi participate in soil carbon processes, but these relationships are complex and ecosystem-dependent. Long-term bioelectrical measurements may eventually provide an additional observational layer for studying changes in below-ground biological activity. Whether they can contribute to practical carbon monitoring must first be demonstrated.
Measure first. Validate before applying.
Fundamental research
Studies report structured electrical activity and spike-like patterns in fungi. What these patterns mean biologically remains open — OpenMycoNet aims to contribute real-world datasets that can help clarify this.
Patterns are measurable. Meaning has to be demonstrated.
What we don't yet know
Perhaps the most valuable observations will be ones we are not currently looking for. Distributed long-term measurements may reveal recurring patterns, environmental relationships or unexpected phenomena that existing hypotheses do not predict. That is a central reason for OpenMycoNet: not confirming hypotheses at any cost, but making observations that can challenge them.
The most interesting answer may be one we did not expect.
There are signals beneath our feet. We have only just begun to understand them. Every BioComm node that goes live adds another observation to a growing shared dataset — and another opportunity to test what these signals can, and cannot, tell us.
Mycorrhizal fungi associate with a large proportion of terrestrial plant species. Fungi also produce measurable electrical activity whose biological significance is still being investigated. OpenMycoNet brings many individual observations together so that recurring patterns can be compared across locations, substrates and environmental conditions.
Global data base
A measurement in Maintal, one in Osaka and one in São Paulo are individually local observations. Together, standardized measurements can create a dataset with a geographic and ecological breadth that is difficult for any single research site to achieve.
Real measurements, open questions
Electrical activity in fungi has been documented scientifically (Adamatzky et al., 2022). What particular patterns mean under natural conditions is a different question. More on bioelectricity →
AI for pattern analysis
As the dataset grows, computational models can be trained to identify recurring structures and correlations. AI does not decide what a signal “means” — candidate patterns must be tested against documented conditions and validated before stronger conclusions are drawn. Explore BioComm Software →
Open data
Measurement data are intended to be made available under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 for independent analysis and further research. Open data, independently testable conclusions.
Minimal effort
Once a node is properly installed and documented, BioComm handles routine measurement and data transfer largely in the background. Simple operation — standardized measurement.
Citizen science
Participation can contribute something special to this research: many measurements under the most varied conditions – and all without requiring scientific expertise. More on the citizen science methodology →
The network's published results and open datasets are available to everyone — operating a node is not a prerequisite for using them. If you would like to contribute measurements yourself, you can apply to operate one of the available BioComm nodes.
Get access to a BioComm node
After a successful application: a BioComm measuring device on loan, deposit approx. €100 (final costs to follow), return possible at any time.
Deposit approx. €100
Run BioComm
Download the BioComm software for free — no installation required. See the BioComm software →
Free
Install and document
Install the electrodes in the documented measurement substrate according to the BioComm node protocol, and record site and measurement conditions. See the BioComm hardware →
Measure & contribute
BioComm records the measurements and prepares the data for transmission according to the project's privacy and data standards. Your measurements become part of the shared OpenMycoNet dataset.
OpenMycoNet clearly separates measurement data, personal information and scientific interpretation. Personal data and precise operator locations are never published. Measurement data intended for research is made openly available together with the necessary, non-personal context information.
Your node
Records electrical activity and environmental conditions.
BioComm
Prepares the measurements according to a defined technical process.
OpenMycoNet
Combines measurements from different locations and conditions.
Open Data
Measurement data and context information intended for publication are made openly available under CC BY 4.0.
Analysis
We look for recurring patterns and relationships and check them against documented conditions.
Back to the network
Robust findings help refine future measurements, questions and analyses.
A pattern is not yet an explanation. That's why we're transparent about what was measured, what an analysis suggests, and what can actually be concluded from it.
How BioComm handles data →Together
Two ways to collaborate directly
Companies and organisations that support OpenMycoNet and work with us.
Companies and organisations can support OpenMycoNet in two ways: cooperation partners (Hyphists) contribute things like expertise, infrastructure, research access or technical capabilities. Supporters (Sporists) support the project financially. Both can complement each other and influence neither the research results nor their interpretation.
Support
Support the project
OpenMycoNet is a citizen science project currently developed without institutional research funding. Server operation, hardware development and continued project work are supported through voluntary contributions and cooperation. Support helps make the project possible — it does not determine which results are expected, accepted or published.
You can donate without registering. If you'd like to become part of the network and stay informed about the project, you can also register for free.
Every contribution helps expand the measurements and the shared dataset.
Registration
Become part of the network
Register — you'll receive project-relevant news by email. Registration is not linked to any financial support.
Bewerbung
Application: Your own BioComm node
📍 We are currently looking for node operators in Germany. In a second step we will expand to DACH, and eventually worldwide. Applications from other regions are already welcome — we'll be in touch when your region is next.
⚠️ Hardware is limited. If demand is high we maintain a waiting list and will notify you by email as soon as a device becomes available.
Minimum requirements
- PC or smartphone for initial bridge setup (enter Wi-Fi credentials once)
- Wi-Fi availability near the planned bridge location
- Access to suitable substrate: garden, forest, compost, plant pot with fungal substrate, etc.
- Possibility of permanent, weatherproof installation
- Willingness to measure for at least 3 months (monthly cancellation thereafter)
- One node per operator (exceptions by arrangement)
- Basic hardware handling — no soldering or programming skills required
- A professional or scientific background is a plus (e.g. biology, forestry, environmental science) — but not a requirement — more on this →
- Completion of the short BioComm node-operator introduction/training
- Willingness to document site and measurement conditions according to the project protocol
- Reliable operation and basic maintenance of the node during the agreed measurement period
- Reporting of relevant changes, disturbances or technical problems
✓ You will receive regular feedback on your measurement data and be kept informed of all news.
The project
Citizen science from below
OpenMycoNet was initiated by Robert Jank, an independent inventor from Maintal near Frankfurt, with the aim of investigating bioelectrical activity in fungal and mycorrhizal systems under real-world conditions.
The BioComm technology used for this includes protected technical developments. OpenMycoNet uses this technology for its research and citizen science work, while intellectual-property rights and research data remain strictly separate. Principle: Proprietary Intelligence, Open Data. The technology can be protected — that changes nothing about the openness of the data.
The people and organisations involved in OpenMycoNet may also have technical or economic interests connected with applications of the technology. Such interests do not change the standard applied to the research: measurements, negative results and contradictory evidence must be treated according to the same criteria. Interests can exist. They do not decide what the data are allowed to show.
bioelectrical measurement channels
programmable stimulation output