Writing in the Smithsonian Magazine, Clive Thompson looks at the scientific debate over whether trees communicate with each other. Trees certainly communicate. In forests, they are connected to each other through underground fungal networks and send carbon back and forth as needed. This begs the question “Are trees intentionally trying to send messages to other trees?”
In his article, Thompson cites the work of Peter Wohlleben, a German forest ranger and author of “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World.”Wohllben came across a giant beech stump felled 400 or500 years ago but as he scraped away the surface with his penknife, he was astonished to find the stump was still green with chlorophyll. The only explanation was that the surrounding trees were keeping it alive by pumping sugar into it through the network. To communicate through the network, trees send chemical, hormonal and slow – pulsing electric signals which scientists are beginning to discover. Alarm and distress appear to be the main topics of conversation.
Wohllben maintains that trees communicate through the air, using pheromones and other scent signals. His favourite example occurs in sub – Saharan Africa. When a giraffe starts chewing acacia leaves, the tree notices the injury and emits a distress signal in the form of ethylene gas. On detecting this, the neighbouring acacias start pumping tannins into their leaves. In large enough quantities they could sicken or even kill large herbivores. Giraffes are aware of this and that is why they browse into the wind, so the gas doesn’t reach the trees in front of them. If there’s no wind, a giraffe will walk a hundred yards – farther than the gas can travel – before feeding on the next acacia. The giraffes know that the trees are talking to each other!
Wohllben has teamed up with Suzanne Simard from the University of Columbia, Canada in a documentary called “Intelligent Trees”. In the film they explore the ways in which trees communicate:
“They are more than organisms . . . cleaning the air for us. They are
Beings that have feelings. There is a friendship among trees. They can form bonds like an old couple, where one looks after the other.”
The Tree Listening Project
Artist Alex Metcalf has developed the Tree Listening Project using a highly sensitive microphone in order to make audible the rumble of tree movement and the popping sound of ascending water behind the bark, enabling the listener to hear the very life of the tree surging up from the roots. Alex has developed the project into a travelling, activity-based educational experience, enabling groups of children and adults to listen to the hidden sounds, the heartbeat of trees.
Shinrin Yoku
The practice of nature therapy Shinrin Yoku, or Forest Bathing was introduced in Japan in 1982 and has been proven to reduce stress and boost the immune system. Yoshifumi Miyazaki is among a growing number of scientists studying the science behind the physiological and psychological effects of nature on human health and well- being. In his book “Shinrin Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing” he explains the techniques and how it reduces stress and boosts the immune system.
His theory is that we live in a modern society with bodies that are still adapted to the natural environment. As most people have only lived in urban settings for a few hundred years we are not genetically prepared for urban living –
“Genes cannot change over just a few hundred years”
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