A forest is more than just a collection of trees. In fact, trees know how to communicate with each other. This was reiterated by Suzanne Simard, an expert in the Department of the Forest Sciences Center in Vancouver.
A forest it is much more than just a collection of trees. Indeed trees know how to communicate with each other.
This was reiterated by Suzanne Simard, an expert in the Department of the Forest Sciences Center in Vancouver.
The speech he gave at TedSummit2016 is going viral. In his opinion, trees are the fundamental part of forests, but a forest itself is much more than what we see.
What allows trees to communicate with each other is often found underground and not visible to our eyes. Trees are giants but their communication is based on microorganisms found in the soil.
In his opinion, we cannot consider trees as completely independent entities. The expert's words come from 30 years of work and research in the Canadian forests.
The trees communicate with each other and also have an extra brand: they recognize their relatives'. The mother tree knows how to recognize its 'children' and through an underground communication network it manages to maintain an important contact, a phenomenon that does not occur with 'foreign' trees.
Read also: TREES: THIS IS WHY WE LOVE THEM AND WANT TO PROTECT THEM
Mother trees are able to reduce their roots to make room for their children. The mother tree, for example, can send carbon and defense signals to nearby seedlings that serve to increase their resistance.
"It is just as if the trees were talking to each other" - says the expert in her speech. Communication between trees also occurs through the action of microorganisms and thanks to the mycelium of fungi, many of which have yet to be studied. In particular, the mycelia are considered the Earth's natural internet.
Il mycelium it is the vegetative apparatus of fungi and is formed by an intertwining of filaments called hyphae, tubules in which the protoplasm flows.
In short, trees amaze us once again and the reasons for protecting them are increasingly important given that the green giants are the lungs of the planet and can save us from the negative consequences of climate change.
Marta Albè
