Something else: sounds of forests, communication,...

With its characteristic sounds, mysteries and beauty, the forest sometimes seems magical. For example, you may have heard of trees as organisms that communicate with each other. Of course, magic has nothing to do with it. It’s more about biological interactions…


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Sounds of forests: short videos

Do trees communicate?

Connections at the root tips with large fungal networks enable interaction among the same and different tree species. This is a mutual relationship: the fungi provide the trees with nutrients and in return the trees release sugars. Trees can share their resources with each other. For example, older trees called mother trees use this fungal network to provide shaded seedlings with sugars. In addition, trees that are weaker (e.g. due to an insect attack) or about to die will pass on their resources via the network to healthier neighbours. Plants also use the fungal network to send out chemical signals that can alert their neighbours to step up their defences. There are also some plants that get into the fungal network system to steal the resources of nearby trees and other species, an example of this are orchids. Other trees such as the black walnut tree spread toxic chemicals through the network to sabotage rivals. This hidden network is important for individual trees to function as a part of an integrated ecosystem and hereby enhances the stability of the forest. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mother-trees-are-intelligent-they-learn-and-remember/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAll%20the%20trees%20here%2C%20and,also%20use%20them%20to%20communicate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOqeyPIVRo