Do trees communicate with each other?

[Anchor]

Mrs Anchor found this a couple of days ago and after reading it today, I thought I'd share it, pretty interesting from MSM

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/05/20/4236600.htm


Question: Do trees communicate with each other?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

They might seem like the strong, tall and silent type, but trees actually communicate with each other.

Forest ecologist Dr Suzanne Simard, from the University of British Colombia, studies a type of fungi that forms underground communication networks between trees in North American forests.

Big old trees — dubbed 'mother trees' — are hubs in this mycorrhizal fungal network, playing a key role in supporting other trees in the forest, especially their offspring.

"If you're a mother and you have children, you recognise your children and you treat them in certain ways. We're finding that trees will do the same thing. They'll adjust their competitive behaviour to make room for their own kin and they send those signals through mycorrhizal networks," says Simard.

"We found that the biggest oldest trees had more connections to other trees than smaller trees. It stands to reason because they have more root systems," she says.

"So when a seedling establishes on the forest floor, if it's near one of these mother trees it just links into that network and accesses that huge resource network."

Sharing resources

Fungal networks don't just operate between related trees, but also between trees of different species in the same native community, says Simard.

In a landmark experiment, published in a 1997 issue of Nature, Simard used radioisotopes to trace carbon, nitrogen and water moving between a Douglas fir and a paper birch tree, which are both native to the inland forests of British Colombia.

When she shaded one tree, carbon-based sugars would flow into it from the other tree.

So rather than competing for resources, these two trees were using fungal networks to share them, says Simard.

In another study, Simard and her graduate student showed every tree in a 30 by 30-metre forest stand was connected to every other tree, with an estimated 250 to 300 trees being connected together in this single forest stand.

Defence signals

Other evidence shows trees use fungal networks to warn their neighbours about impending attacks from pests.

"When trees are attacked, they increase their defence against the invaders by upregulating their defence genes to make defence enzymes," says Simard.

"Research suggests they also send chemical signals down into their roots through their mycorrhizal networks to their neighbours, which then detect these signals and upregulate their own defence genes."

Lab studies have recorded defence signals travelling between trees in as little as six hours, says Simard.

She says when fungal networks are intact they allow a greater diversity of trees, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to survive in the forest.

This diversity is the basis for forests that are resilient to disease, pests and climate change, says Simard.

Above-ground communication

Plant physiologist Professor Hans Lambers of the University of Western Australia says scientists have known for 20 or 30 years that plants communicate by giving off chemicals above ground.

The classic example is the release of volatile chemicals by plants that are attacked by pests. These chemicals are picked up by neighbouring plants which are then forewarned to defend themselves from the pests.

"The neighbours must sense those volatiles, and then respond by accumulating the chemicals that deter the attackers," says Lambers.

Above-ground chemicals can also attract predators that eat pests, and more recently this chemical communication has also been found to occur below ground, says Lambers.

But whether mycorrhizal fungi networks are used or not depends on the particular ecosystem.

Australian ecosystems

The Western Australian ecosystems, where Lambers works, are dominated by banksias, grevilleas and hakeas that on don't rely on mycorrhizal fungi.

However, eucalypt forests do have mycorrhizal fungal networks, says fungal ecologist Professor Ian Anderson of the University of Western Sydney, although no research has been done looking at their function.

"No-one's actually shown that an interconnected network is transferring carbon and nitrogen," he says. "It's a really under-researched area."

Anderson suspects fungal networks would be playing an even more important role in eucalypt forests than North American forests given their soils have much lower nutrients.

"I think these mycorrhizal networks have an even greater potential than what Suzanne Simard has shown," he says.

Implications for old-growth forests

Simard says her findings have implications for forestry practices that target old-growth trees.

"We need to leave these legacy trees and let them send their messages into the soil to surrounding plants," she says.

"This will help the recovery of forests following disturbance such as logging or fire."

Conserving fungal networks that help forests recover from disturbance could also prevent invasions by exotic species, which often compete with the endemic networks, she believes.

Dr Suzanne Simard, Professor Ian Anderson and Professor Hans Lambers spoke with Anna Salleh


Seems to me that trees have a "community" spirit of a distinctly service to others nature :) No wonder people want to cut them down.

[Ikarusion]

most definitely.

zNp14S8AKyg

[wnlight]

Reminds me of the "Avatar" movie.

[grannyfranny100]

Hum, I wonder how vegans will react to knowing that plants have awareness just as animals do. Do their choices to not eat meat relate to the awareness issue or to the cruel ways we treat animals? Maybe the questions takes the thread off it's direction but it is what comes to my mind. Is it okay to kill plants and eat them? What is behind the vegan logic?

[thunder24]

Hum, I wonder how vegans will react to knowing that plants have awareness just as animals do. Do their choices to not eat meat relate to the awareness issue or to the cruel ways we treat animals? Maybe the questions takes the threat off it's direction but it is what comes to my mind. Is it okay to kill plants and eat them? What is behind the vegan logic?

lol....good questions, iv been saying that for years

[kirolak]

Of course plants are conscious, and yet I will remain vegan. They do NOT have central nervous system, so they do NOT feel as we do. This is an old, old argument. If one sees the plucking of an apple to be the same as the cutting of a cow's throat, one is a psychopath, in my opinion. But let it rest, we will never convince each other.

[Ikarusion]

well then, we could start stunning plants too, i suppose:
fGLABm7jJ-Y

however, i dont think its the same when you take fruits from a tree or its leaves, which regrow, as killing an animal or cutting of a part of their body.
the main thing we need to change is our approach i believe. just being more respectful, careful and thankful with and for our "future food".

[ghostrider]

a living thing is a living thing ... the Earth is alive , she makes the fauna , the flora , yes the trees , alive ... we all get life from our sun , which sends waves of life giving energy all across the cosmos every moment of every day ... the spirit power of creation lives in every living thing = everything comes from spirit/creation/thought ... notice trees are connected to mother and as long as they reach for the light , they grow , and grow big and strong ... stay grounded to mother earth and always reach for the light and you will grow , and grow strong ...

[grannyfranny100]

Ghostrider, what loving thoughts. Corporate types would want to know about the quarterly profits of trees.

[Gaia]

This idea has long made ​​its way among aboriginal Canadians. 30 years ago, this idea was so disturbing that it was rejected by many scientists.Today it is proven experimentally in many species. The trees transmit messages remotely,they do not use words but perfumes.

[Ewan]

A tree expects to lose it fruit and completes its purpose in doing so, a fruit expects to be consumed for it fulfills its purpose. It disperses the seed. The cycle is the purpose.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Dear OP,
some of my most important dreams had trees in them.
Also, I dreamed of a large nearly dead oak tree before moving to the place I live.
About 2 or 3 weeks later, we got a notice on our door that said, one of the largest trees in front of the building was being removed by the city.

I think maybe it was a friendly old entity who understood why it was being removed, but it's so unnatural...
the dream was of a silent young adult male, looked like an adult version of my young son.

He wordlessly prompted me to climb the oak tree, then when we reached the top,
he showed me the need to cross from the dying tree into a better tree, a pine that was standing next to us and very much alive.

I actually cried the next month when that tree was removed.
The animals seemed really sad too... we have baby crows and about 50 squirrels who know this complex :(

It just so happens that another even larger tree, near the creek, 1/2 block from me, has had a metallic "face" screwed to the side of its trunk,
pretty high up :)

there might be a pagan presence here, not sure,
but it's certainly a loss when city planners put in those oaks knowing how large they get and how rotten they get inside :(

It's a sacred tree and i felt bad about it.

/rant.


p.s. i watch the squirrels very closely and am amazed at their industry.
so many of their young ones die, but even that part of the life cycle is a help to the trees.
we all give so that others may grow :(

see, when a squirrel is killed, then every nut it buried in private has a chance to germinate.

[DeDukshyn]

Hum, I wonder how vegans will react to knowing that plants have awareness just as animals do. Do their choices to not eat meat relate to the awareness issue or to the cruel ways we treat animals? Maybe the questions takes the thread off it's direction but it is what comes to my mind. Is it okay to kill plants and eat them? What is behind the vegan logic?

Plants are actually still alive when you eat them! :shocked: lol. Some vegans are doing it for the wrong reasons in my opinion, there is only one Life, and it occupies a myriad forms.

Now, turning vegan for practical sustainability and showing non-support of the horrific western "farming" practices, are great logical reasoning for being vegan.

[DeDukshyn]

Of course plants are conscious, and yet I will remain vegan. They do NOT have central nervous system, so they do NOT feel as we do. This is an old, old argument. If one sees the plucking of an apple to be the same as the cutting of a cow's throat, one is a psychopath, in my opinion. But let it rest, we will never convince each other.

Especially when all the "others" that are not like you, in your mind are all "psychopaths". It's like me saying I won't ever be with a vegan girl because all vegans are mentally handicapped. It might be true in my mind to justify me saying it (in my mind), but in reality I'm far more discerning than that and I know far better and so do most.

If you think I am anti-vegan, which you will by judging my comment, I am not remotely and am slowly shifting my diet for far more sane and logical reasons than "all non-vegans are psychopaths".

Go eat your veggies in peace, and without judgement of others -- that negative energy is the same energy found in meat of an animal killed in fear. Not good for you.

[SilentFeathers]

Of course plants are conscious, and yet I will remain vegan. They do NOT have central nervous system, so they do NOT feel as we do. This is an old, old argument. If one sees the plucking of an apple to be the same as the cutting of a cow's throat, one is a psychopath, in my opinion. But let it rest, we will never convince each other.

We live in a place where everything must eat to survive....some critters eat other critters, some critters eat both plants and animals, some eat just plants....

We humans eat both....it's just natural IMO.....it's our way to survive. All things are sacred regardless and must be cherished, if you eat them or not. A life form is a life form.

Personally, I see killing a plant to eat and killing an animal to eat are one of the same thing, the only difference is ones perception of what life form is more important than the other....to me they have equal value.

A psychopath would be one who chooses to eat neither, who doesn't want to be a meat eater nor a vegetarian, and devours only dirt, rocks and pebbles instead because they want to protect all life forms and think all things that eat them are actually the psychopaths.....and dies from malnutrition because his or her perception of existence is twisted.

[LivioRazlo]

Watching that hour long video while smoking some of this lands finest plant, I actually shed a tear when just thinking about how beautiful all life is. The unseen, or rather I should say, the forgotten connections of all creation. It is sad to see the youth today, so devoid of real ambitions. This planet could truly be a utopia, yet the masses are fixated on issues which are trivial in the grand scheme of things: race, greed, fame, religion, sexual preference, etc.

The forces which work against us are drawing near, much like that of Mordor in LOTR. It is time we hasten our move without delay so that we may live to see the beginning of that utopia built.


We live in a place where everything must eat to survive....some critters eat other critters, some critters eat both plants and animals, some eat just plants....

We humans eat both....it's just natural IMO.....it's our way to survive. All things are sacred regardless and must be cherished, if you eat them or not. A life form is a life form.

Personally, I see killing a plant to eat and killing an animal to eat are one of the same thing, the only difference is ones perception of what life form is more important than the other....to me they have equal value.

^ This.

The bigger picture is always the better picture.

[Fellow Aspirant]

To me, the overriding reality is that we all exist as parts of a universal system; as such, we depend on the other parts of the system for our sustenance - our survival. We can make choices about how much suffering we are willing to inflict on other beings within the system, but ultimately, our simple existence as energetic biological entities requires that we consume the reality we inhabit.

Namaste

Brian

[Calz]

Trees communicate with ... everything that is able to listen.

Older cultures of humans could hear ... and communicate with most of the plant life.

We as the majority of humanity have lost that ... bad on us.


If we expect to survive the coming challenges that would be priority one ... connect to nature.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHEcIbhDiw

[Orph]

And now for something completely different. ........................ Do trees communicate with each other? It's been a long time, but I remember reading in a Seth book, (Jane Roberts), mentioning that trees can do more than communicate. He says that trees can actually distinguish between different people. In other words, the tree in your backyard actually knows the difference between you and your next door neighbor. Granted, that isn't scientific proof, and it isn't as exciting as the vegan vs meat-eater fracas, but, hey, I just thought I'd throw that in there. :)

[Ellisa]

Isn't there a type of vegan-ism that only the product that the tree/plant discards is eaten? An apple for instance, or a vegetable where the above ground leaves have begun to die, eg a carrot or onion. They are called Fruitarians I think. I imagine it would be a very tedious and tasteless way to live, but to each their own! I am not a vegetarian, though I eat moderate amounts of fish and meat only as I like vegetables!

[betoobig]

Amazing Discovery: Plant Blood Enables Your Cells To Capture Sunlight Energy
http://wakeup-world.com/2015/05/22/research-plant-blood-enables-your-cells-to-capture-sunlight-energy/?utm_campaign=Wake+Up+World+e-Newsletter&utm_content=Latest+Headlines+inc.+Amazing+Discovery%3A+Plant+Blood+Enables+Your+Cells+To+Capture+Sun light+Energy&utm_medium=email&utm_source=getresponse

There is a kid (he may not be a kid by now) in Argentina who was born without forgetting from where he came. They asked him what was the most difficult part about being in this planet. Hes answer was: the eating part, I don´t like eating living things, plants are also living creatures.
I guess we should go towars sungadering...

LOVE
Juan

[21g]

For anybody interested in plant communication, the work of Stephen Harold Buhner is a real eye opener.

His book, the secret teachings of plants, is outrageously good :)

He covers all the science to back it up, too. If you enjoyed the film, Avatar, then you are in for a treat with
this book !

I have an imaginery guest list, where a dozen or so people have a Big conversation that changes humanity.
We have Mr Ryan as chairperson, Anna Breytenbach and Stephen Harold Buhner are there to represent plants and
animals. Gaia would be fine if we absorbed some of their wisdom.

[Camilo]

Hum, I wonder how vegans will react to knowing that plants have awareness just as animals do. Do their choices to not eat meat relate to the awareness issue or to the cruel ways we treat animals? Maybe the questions takes the thread off it's direction but it is what comes to my mind. Is it okay to kill plants and eat them? What is behind the vegan logic?

Good one!!!

[joeecho]

A tree expects to lose it fruit and completes its purpose in doing so, a fruit expects to be consumed for it fulfills its purpose. It disperses the seed. The cycle is the purpose.

That logic should extend to humans as well. Call it, As human our purpose is to be a flash on the world stage (period).

Flash away all you 'cabbages' (Mark Twain) :)

http://www.artleo.com/pic/201108/1024x600/artleo.com-4827.jpg

[Aspen]

Mrs Anchor found this a couple of days ago and after reading it today, I thought I'd share it, pretty interesting from MSM

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/05/20/4236600.htm


Question: Do trees communicate with each other?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

They might seem like the strong, tall and silent type, but trees actually communicate with each other.

Forest ecologist Dr Suzanne Simard, from the University of British Colombia, studies a type of fungi that forms underground communication networks between trees in North American forests.

Big old trees — dubbed 'mother trees' — are hubs in this mycorrhizal fungal network, playing a key role in supporting other trees in the forest, especially their offspring.

"If you're a mother and you have children, you recognise your children and you treat them in certain ways. We're finding that trees will do the same thing. They'll adjust their competitive behaviour to make room for their own kin and they send those signals through mycorrhizal networks," says Simard.

"We found that the biggest oldest trees had more connections to other trees than smaller trees. It stands to reason because they have more root systems," she says.

"So when a seedling establishes on the forest floor, if it's near one of these mother trees it just links into that network and accesses that huge resource network."

Sharing resources

Fungal networks don't just operate between related trees, but also between trees of different species in the same native community, says Simard.

In a landmark experiment, published in a 1997 issue of Nature, Simard used radioisotopes to trace carbon, nitrogen and water moving between a Douglas fir and a paper birch tree, which are both native to the inland forests of British Colombia.

When she shaded one tree, carbon-based sugars would flow into it from the other tree.

So rather than competing for resources, these two trees were using fungal networks to share them, says Simard.

In another study, Simard and her graduate student showed every tree in a 30 by 30-metre forest stand was connected to every other tree, with an estimated 250 to 300 trees being connected together in this single forest stand.

Defence signals

Other evidence shows trees use fungal networks to warn their neighbours about impending attacks from pests.

"When trees are attacked, they increase their defence against the invaders by upregulating their defence genes to make defence enzymes," says Simard.

"Research suggests they also send chemical signals down into their roots through their mycorrhizal networks to their neighbours, which then detect these signals and upregulate their own defence genes."

Lab studies have recorded defence signals travelling between trees in as little as six hours, says Simard.

She says when fungal networks are intact they allow a greater diversity of trees, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to survive in the forest.

This diversity is the basis for forests that are resilient to disease, pests and climate change, says Simard.

Above-ground communication

Plant physiologist Professor Hans Lambers of the University of Western Australia says scientists have known for 20 or 30 years that plants communicate by giving off chemicals above ground.

The classic example is the release of volatile chemicals by plants that are attacked by pests. These chemicals are picked up by neighbouring plants which are then forewarned to defend themselves from the pests.

"The neighbours must sense those volatiles, and then respond by accumulating the chemicals that deter the attackers," says Lambers.

Above-ground chemicals can also attract predators that eat pests, and more recently this chemical communication has also been found to occur below ground, says Lambers.

But whether mycorrhizal fungi networks are used or not depends on the particular ecosystem.

Australian ecosystems

The Western Australian ecosystems, where Lambers works, are dominated by banksias, grevilleas and hakeas that on don't rely on mycorrhizal fungi.

However, eucalypt forests do have mycorrhizal fungal networks, says fungal ecologist Professor Ian Anderson of the University of Western Sydney, although no research has been done looking at their function.

"No-one's actually shown that an interconnected network is transferring carbon and nitrogen," he says. "It's a really under-researched area."

Anderson suspects fungal networks would be playing an even more important role in eucalypt forests than North American forests given their soils have much lower nutrients.

"I think these mycorrhizal networks have an even greater potential than what Suzanne Simard has shown," he says.

Implications for old-growth forests

Simard says her findings have implications for forestry practices that target old-growth trees.

"We need to leave these legacy trees and let them send their messages into the soil to surrounding plants," she says.

"This will help the recovery of forests following disturbance such as logging or fire."

Conserving fungal networks that help forests recover from disturbance could also prevent invasions by exotic species, which often compete with the endemic networks, she believes.

Dr Suzanne Simard, Professor Ian Anderson and Professor Hans Lambers spoke with Anna Salleh


Seems to me that trees have a "community" spirit of a distinctly service to others nature :) No wonder people want to cut them down.

There are several videos on youtube of Susan Simard, talking about this subject. This is my favourite one on the Mother Tree and how the trees don't just communicate with their own species, but also across species and that the mother tree gives her strength or any life force remaining in her to other plants as she is dying. The fungi is the key to this type of interaction.

-8SORM4dYG8