I think it is highly unlikely that they know when they are about to be cut, but they may respond to the stimulus of your foot on their roots. Let me explain. Saprotrophic fungi are always looking for their next meal, they convert lignin and cellulose in dead wood into sugars and energy. read more
A large tree in the forest (a 'mother' tree), will be connected by mushroom mycelia to many trees around it, and will give resources to the other trees, helping them grow stronger and faster. This is also a form of rudimentary communication. read more
But plants are immobile. They need to see where their food is. They need to feel the weather, and they need to smell danger. And then they need to be able to integrate all of this very dynamic and changing information. Just because we don’t see plants moving doesn’t mean that there’s not a very rich and dynamic world going on inside the plant. 3. read more