Winter is my favorite time of year for nature walks. All is quieter and the energy more tender, allowing for a contemplative look at life and how we are intricately connected and dependent upon nature.
One of the most powerful scientific concepts that has recently become mainstream is that trees can communicate through a complex system of fungi just below the surface. These mycorrhizal (fungal) networks form thread-like pathways attached to tree root tips and spread out like a web throughout the forest floor. Water, nutrients and chemical and electrical signals are shared along these fungal highways after the fungus takes what it needs from the symbiotic exchange.
Recent studies show that life in the forest isn’t always Darwinian or survival of the fittest for the benefit of just the individual. Research shows that trees work together and warn each other, even if they are different species. Flora and fauna have co-evolved for billions of years so the health of one impacts the health of all.
In one of many studies on this topic, Dr. Suzanne Simard, professor of ecology at the University of British Columbia, observed a Douglas fir tree with an insect infestation send chemical signals to a nearby pine tree. After receiving the signal, the pine tree pumped a defensive enzyme through its leaves and bark to protect itself from that insect. In another study, she observed seedlings receiving water, nutrients and carbon from older, resource-heavy trees along the network during critical periods in their growth that helped them survive.
Trees can also communicate through chemical signals sent in the air. In Africa, the tall umbrella thorn acacia tree sends ethylene gas out through its leaves to warn other trees that a giraffe is munching on it. Neighboring trees receive the gaseous signal and infuse enough tannins into their leaves to make the next patron sick or even die. Giraffes are smart and have co-evolved with these plants so if they taste something off in the leaves, they will go to the tree upwind or hundreds of yards away to outsmart the tree signals.
The research done on this topic has completely changed how scientists look at forest ecosystems. There are enormous implications for this type of research on the timber industry, soil producers, development (urban in-fill versus the more harmful urban sprawl) and our understanding of how things work. To anthropomorphize a bit, the forest has a lesson for all of us: To be successful as a species, and frankly for the sake of humanity, we have to work together and share resources with those that need them the most and to watch out for one another.
Toni Reale is the owner of Roadside Blooms, a unique flower, plant, crystal, rock and fossil shop in Park Circle in North Charleston. roadsidebloomsshop.com
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