Name: How trees talk to each other
Uploaded: 2016-07-22T15:11:46Z
Duration: 18 min 9 s
Description: "A forest is much more than what you see," says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery -- trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.

Suzanne Simard: How trees talk to each other

How trees talk to each other

"A forest is much more than what you see," says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery -- trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.

Forests are not just collections of trees but complex, interconnected systems where trees communicate and share resources through vast networks of fungal mycelium. Underground, a single footstep can cover hundreds of kilometers of these fungal threads, connecting species like birch and fir in active exchanges of carbon and nutrients. Old 'mother trees' use these networks to nurture seedlings, even recognizing and favoring their kin. Clear-cutting and monoculture weaken these intricate systems, making forests more vulnerable to disease and climate change.

Forests Thrive On Hidden Networks And Underground Cooperation

*Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest*

environment

science

sustainability

nature

biology

communication

community

language

biodiversity

beauty

trees

identity

botany

ecology

plants

fungi

TED Stage Talk