Plants communicate with each other using underground networks (and they know what is happening on the surface)

Plants have developed surprisingly complex communication networks that allow them to communicate about what is happening on the surface. Let's not call them "simple" plants!

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Plants have developed surprisingly complex communication networks that allow them to communicate about what is happening on the surface.

This is what has revealed a study conducted by a group of scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, just published in Plus One. Despite their “immobile” lifestyle, plants are therefore more active than one might think: they are able to communicate underground with each other, sending complex messages that arrive from the surface.

This is due to certain chemicals secreted by the roots in the soil, which are then detected through the roots of neighboring plants, so they know if their neighbors are relatives or strangers. And even to direct their growth accordingly. As they grow in close proximity to other plants, they constantly monitor for any signals that occur on the surface, and do the same underground as well.

How did they find out? To better understand how this can happen and to learn how factors above the ground affect what happens below the surface, the scholars analyzed the behavior of some maize seedlings, monitoring the reaction to changes in growth based on proximity to other plants.

By simulating touching a leaf from a nearby plant, they discovered the chemicals produced by the plant's root. The team then took these chemicals and transferred them to other plants, to see the reactions. They found that plants exposed to the chemicals responded by directing their resources to grow more leaves and fewer roots.

In practice, the team showed that what happens above the ground affects what happens below the surface, and also that how plants communicate this is more complex than we thought. This really matters, since the ability of plants to detect changes in their surroundings (and react accordingly) is essential in determining their survival.

Let's not call them "simple" plants!