Intelligent Trees (2016) Movie Script
-[birds chirping]
-[wind through trees]
[traffic]
We are a connected society.
We are connected to our
families and friends,
but also to our jobs and duties.
We are connected
over computer networks,
phone lines
and traffic junctions.
The world surrounding us is in
constant movement and growth.
We left our houses made of wood
to plant an artificial forest
from concrete, glass and metal.
It's not easy escaping a world
where everything is connected,
to spend some time in the forest
where we seek quiet and rest
from our unsteady lives.
We expect to find some kind
of wisdom in the forest,
but we don't understand
the voice of nature.
If those trees could only talk!
Little do we know,
that in between
this world of stillness,
words are rushing
back and forth.
We only have to tilt
our heads down and listen...
to our roots.
[serene music]
The Coastal Pacific Rain forest
of North America.
These forests are special
and known all over the world.
Here in British Columbia,
one can find trees of heights
around 100 meters
and over 1 000 years of age.
People walk amongst
these ancient giants
in a sense of spiritual
wonder and respect.
But not anymore
are these places only described
by mythological metaphors.
Scientists begin to understand
the importance of these forests
as they discover more details
about the relationships
between trees
on a microscopic scale.
Here in Canada,
at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver,
Dr. Suzanne Simard, Professor
of Forest Ecology,
conducts
ground-breaking research.
Together with a team
of passionate forest scientists,
she tries to find out more
about the methods
of communication amongst trees.
Before I became a professor
I was actually a forester.
And before that I grew up
in the Inland Rain forest
of British Columbia.
As a forester I really was
moving into an area that
I loved dear to my heart.
I knew forests.
As I started working for
the forest industry,
I started to realize
that what was happening
didn't really mesh very well
with what I understood
forests to work like.
My job was
to go into old clear cuts
or new clear cuts and prescribe
trees to be planted.
What the
forest industry was doing then
was planting one or two
species in clear cuts.
This was very different
than what I understood
forests to grow like,
where there's mixes of species.
When we go walking in the woods
we expect to find
nature untouched and pure,
but in fact
we wander through an environment
that has been largely
shaped by men.
Pristine forests are rather
unique in the world.
In a small country like Germany
forests have been
intensively managed
by people for centuries,
almost everywhere you go.
In an old, close to natural
Beech-forest in The Eifel,
a low mountain range
in the West of Germany,
forest ranger Peter Wohlleben
is well aware of the value
of the trees in his district.
For more than two decades
he made his observations.
In his bestselling book "The
hidden life of trees"
he describes the most curious
and unexpected things
that are going on in his forest.
He knows that this place
is a rare treasure
that needs to be protected.
Originally all of Germany
would have looked
like this old Beech-forest.
80% of the area was covered
with natural Beech-forest.
mixed with other tree species.
But today
there's only a fraction left
and we have
plantation-forests everywhere.
These consists
mostly of plantations
with even edged conifers
that have been planted
and are managed
with heavy machinery.
What happened was
that they ended up using
the same species everywhere.
The standard practice was
to clear-cut and then plant
either Pine or Fir or Spruce.
One species.
And I thought,
what was going on here.
The community
was not intact any more.
It was much different
than what I grew knowing
about these forests.
I studied forestry.
and started my career
the classical way.
I prescribed small clear cuts.
Cut down such beautiful
old Beech trees like these.
and used insecticides.
As a teenager I wanted
to become a conservationist
but I started to realize,
that I was in fact
destroying everything.
And that wasn't what I wanted.
When I looked at those trees
I found that they didn't
perform that well.
They didn't grow very well.
They were sickly.
They weren't that healthy.
As I became a scientist
after a few years as a forester,
I started to examine why
these trees didn't seem
to grow well when
they were by themselves.
I found that when we remove
certain species
of their neighbors that trees
actually became ill.
They became diseased and more
at risk of insect attack.
I wanted to understand
why that was the case.
I thought some of the story
might be going on below ground.
What we call a tree
is only what is
visible above ground.
We consider a tree to consist
only of trunk and crown.
However, the major part of its
life takes place underground.
What happens in the forest
is actually more
than what meets the eye.
The root system of a tree
can spread as far
as two to four times
the diameter of its crown.
Only scientists
with state of the art
research techniques
are able to dig
deep enough into this matter
to uncover that these roots
are more than only water pipes.
I started looking at
the root systems
and I found that the roots
of these different species
when they grew together,
Birch and Fir
and Cedar and Hemlock,
were all intertwined
and linked together.
I learned later on
through more research
as I went into my PhD
that these root systems
actually formed what is called
a Mycorrhizal
Fungal Association.
Mycorrhizal fungi are
certain species of fungi
which associate with all of
the tree species worldwide.
They form a
mutualistic relationship
where the fungus
grows into the root
and provides the root
with nutrients and water
that the fungus
gathers from the soil.
Mushrooms are only
the fruiting bodies of fungi.
Just like apples
are the fruit of apple trees.
Fungi are very
underestimated organisms
because so far most of us
appreciate only the fruit.
Fungi can spread
over several square kilo meters.
One teaspoon of soil may contain
several kilo meters
of string like hyphae
that form the
internet of the forest.
For their services,
they charge sugar and
other products
of tree photosynthesis.
The tree shares up to a third
of its total production
with the fungi.
We found,
when we mapped these forests,
that all of the trees were
all linked together
in a single massive network.
So then I thought OK,
if their linked below ground
then what are these
linkages about.
How does this actually affect
how trees are growing.
We did some more sophisticated
experiments,
once we knew that
those links were there.
We labeled one tree
with an isotope
and traced it from that
tree to its neighbor.
We found that carbon molecules
were moving
from one tree to another tree
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
Then we thought
if carbon is involved,
maybe there's other molecules
involved as well.
We started labeling trees
with Nitrogen and Phosphorus
and deuterated water.
We found that
all of these elements
move back and forth
between the trees.
That was the rudimentary
understanding of
the language of trees.
So these Birch trees here
will be linked
to other Birch trees,
but also to the Douglas Fir
and the Hemlock behind it.
You can see their root-systems
coming down there.
They straight into the ground.
The mycorrhizal network
is just below the surface
of the forest floor.
As you walk,
you are only centimeters
or millimeters away,
walking on top of this network.
The network below ground
can easily be imagined
as a market place,
where the food
is either offered or received
by all the trees
that are linked together.
But what about competition?
If all are eating
at the same table,
then why
don't they steal from each other
and suck each other dry,
in a struggle
for the survival of the fittest?
Trees of one species
are not competitors.
On the contrary,
They actually support each other
almost unconditionally.
The weak
are supported by the strong.
Only together they can
for example,
regulate the micro-climate
and lower the air temperature.
Because trees love it
cool and moist.
You can almost call this
Tree Communism.
And it functions perfectly,
compared to human communism.
Here, the individual is not
as important as the community.
Trees do care for each other.
We think of that as an
interaction between trees,
but really they're
looking after each other.
[speaking foreign language]
My Name is Sm'hayetsk.
I'm Teresa Ryan.
I'm Tsimshian.
I'm from the Gitlan tribe
of the Tsimshian.
My house is Xpe Hanaax.
I'm from
the Ganhada Clan; Raven.
My interest in research
is the relationships
of the forests to Salmon.
I'm a Fisheries Scientist.
A Fisheries Aquatic Ecologist.
I'm also a Cedar Weaver.
A traditional
Tsimshian Cedar Weaver.
We have an understanding of
these ecosystems around us
and the relationships of
things within them.
In many of our languages we have
certain words to describe that.
In Sm'algyax
we say "of one heart".
The Nuu-chah-nulth people
on Vancouver Island
say "Everything is one".
It demonstrates
those relationships
that we've known
and understood for a long time.
When we
mistake trees for loners,
each of them
growing by themselves,
oblivious to their neighbors
and to the environment,
we underestimate them by far.
If forests are actually
not the kind
of harsh environment
we expect them to be.
Where competition
determines the survival
of the strongest,
fastest and toughest,
then maybe a closer look
might reveal
even further relationships
that go beyond our expectations.
The forest industry
wants trees to grow quickly.
Initially trees do
grow quite fast,
when they grow by themselves
However that is not
what they prefer.
Normally trees would
rather cuddle
and stand closely together.
They love company
and like to take things slow.
We need to relearn that trees
do not need to be separated
from alleged competitors.
On the contrary,
we need to allow them
to live in tight groups
just as they like it.
There is in fact
friendship among trees.
It doesn't happen very often
because tree seedlings
cannot choose
whom they
will be growing next to
for the rest of their lives.
Maybe one out of 50 trees
will become
friends with its neighbor.
Like these two.
They grow their branches
away from each other,
so that they don't interfere.
Their roots
intertwine intensively.
It's like an old couple.
If one of them dies
The one
left behind might suffer,
and die soon after.
For a tree,
it is a disaster when
the social network collapses
You can observe this
right here in this forest.
Three trees have blown over.
The remaining tree is now
left by itself and gets sick.
The tips
of its branches die back.
The leaves
turn earlier in the fall
so it can't
photosynthesize properly
It really suffers.
In case it is not able
to reconnect with other trees,
it will likely die as well.
Do trees have
a sense of friendship?
It's language
that we are using here
to describe how trees
relate to each other.
In ecology we call
those things interactions.
Interactions is
a very clinical term.
When we think
of interactions, we think of:
Do they help each other?
Do they compete with each other?
Is one a parasite or a pathogen?
Species interact
in a myriad of ways.
Some of them are beneficial.
In Science
we call this facilitation.
In human relations we
call that friendship.
A grove of Maple Trees
with Cedar in it
will indicate to us that
the Cedar has enough moisture.
It's got the right
moisture regime.
When Cedar and
Maple are growing together,
there is a relationship
with those two trees.
So it's just
a matter of language.
When I think back to
my early work with plantations
and we were
planting single species of trees
and weeding out the
species we didn't want,
I found that
Douglas Fir would suffer,
when we took Birch away from it.
We were affecting
that facilitation between them.
The transfer
of Carbon back and forth,
the nutrition that
the Birch provided for the Fir.
The resistance against
the pathogens in the soil.
When we took the Birch away,
Douglas Fir lost its friend.
They lost its facilitator.
So is there
friendship in forests?
I can use that language.
Sure there is
friendship in forests.
There are mutualistic
facilitative relationships
going on all the time.
Tree connections
may form bonds of friendship,
but they
also link each tree
to all the others over hubs,
very similar
to a computer network.
Scientists who try to visualize
these connections
have been creating
complex models
that look like a map.
A map
of the Wood Wide Web.
We were also able to identify
by looking at this map,
which trees
were the most important
part of the network.
Which ones were
the most highly linked.
We found that
the biggest, oldest trees
were the most highly linked.
We ended up
calling these Mother Trees,
because we discovered
through this map,
that the younger ones
were growing up by
hooking into the network
and growing up
around these Mother Trees.
Trees are very social beings.
The parents, the mother trees,
are looking after
their offspring.
Their roots grow together
and they feed them
with a sugar solution.
One could say that
the mother tree
suckle their offspring.
To some it may seem strange
comparing the flow
of nutrients between older
trees and their kin
with human relationships.
Analogies like that,
based on the observations
of a practitioner
should rather stand on a solid
ground of scientific facts.
At UBC, students from the
faculty of forestry
conduct basic research
about the relationships
between Mother Trees
and their kin.
All of our experiments
involve both field
and greenhouse experiments.
We use
similar techniques in both,
to verify what is going
on in the other one.
We go into a Douglas Fir
forest to gather soil.
That soil has a mixture
of mycorrhizal fungi
that prefer
to associate with Douglas Fir.
We use that mixture to
inoculate our trees.
We grow 'Mother trees',
basically seedlings in pots,
inside mesh-bags.
These mesh-bags
would either allow
the mycorrhizal network to form
with the neighboring
seedling, or not.
We use mesh-bag
to keep the roots
from going through
and touching each other
and transferring between roots.
We want just the fungi
to meet in the middle.
Over a period of a few months,
we allow these two seedlings,
the 'Mother Tree' and her kin,
or the 'Mother Tree'
and the stranger,
to communicate with each other
through this mycorrhizal
network that had formed.
We had to be
able to do the experiment
in the greenhouse,
so we couldn't bring in
a big old Mother Tree and
plant her in a plot.
We had to use seedlings,
because of the restrictive
environment of a greenhouse.
The seedling that grew up first
was well established and
had more nutrients
to spare than the one that
was planted later.
That one that was
previously established
had more resources
than it needed.
It was able to shuttle
some of those resources
to its little brother that
was growing up next to it.
The term Mother Tree is
a really nice term
because we understand
the importance
of mothers in families.
It's a term that
resonates with people.
But it's probably not the most
scientifically accurate term.
What we are really talking
about is relatedness.
Whether Mother Trees are related
to trees around her or new trees
that are coming up
in her neighborhood.
It's really about
whether their genetics
are well related
to each other or not.
Whether they are distant
or close together.
One of the
differential responses was
when the new seedling,
the younger sibling if you will,
was related to
the older seedling.
the big seedling actually
slowed down its growth rate.
It appeared that
it would make room
for its younger sibling to grow.
We would label these mother
trees with Carbon 13.
Which is an isotope
that we injected
into a plastic bag
around the seedling.
That bag completely
seals in the air.
Then we allow the seedling
to photosynthesize.
As we apply the treatment,
the seedling is only able
to photosynthesize with 13 CO2.
Any sugars, any products that
it makes will be labeled.
We then look for that C13
in the recipient plants.
Remember the recipients are
either kin or stranger.
So we'll look at the ratio
of the amount of
carbon that is present.
We bring the pots
into the potting room,
we clip them and then we
clean all the roots,
we brush-off all the dirt,
we wash them
and then they are ready
to be morphotyped.
We do that using a microscope.
We look for all the fungal
connections on the root-tips.
After that
they are ready to be dried.
We do that
in a large drying oven.
After that
each one of those portions
is frozen separately
using liquid nitrogen.
Then you are able to grind them
using mortar and pestle.
That creates a powder
that is weighed
in very small increments.
We send those to the lab
for some micro-spectroscopy.
to evaluate how much
C13 is in the sample.
And we found out that seedlings
that were kin seedlings
were receiving more Carbon
from Mother Trees
than strangers were.
Then it starts
to look like a family.
The Mother Tree
is nurturing her own family
but she is also looking out
for her whole neighborhood.
So it's not just a family.
It's a whole community of trees.
Each with their own role
to play in the forest.
Mothers who care lovingly
for their neighborhood
and their children?
Also Peter Wohlleben
has a way of expressing
the behaviors of trees
in a very humanized language.
When guiding groups of visitors
through his forest,
this helps to make
biological mechanisms
understandable for everyone.
When he talks
about tree families
he goes further by claiming
that they even
provide a good education.
This a typical
Beech kindergarten.
Beech trees grow up in groups,
just like this one.
Parents raise their children
very strictly.
by limiting the available light.
Only three percent of
the sunlight reaches the ground.
So that the small trees need to
stretch to the remaining light.
The benefit of this is that
they grow straight trunks
Which can resist strong winds.
However like in any class
or kindergarten,
there are little rascals
that do as they please.
They grow this way,
they grow that way.
They think "I don't have to
stretch towards the light"
Slowly their
classmates surpass them
and switch off
the last bit of light
so that they die off.
Eventually,
from this entire bunch
Only one or two trees
will remain to grow old.
We discovered that
the Mother Tree
was affecting
how those seedlings grew.
So if we changed the linkages
or we removed them,
those seedlings
would behave differently.
They would either grow worse
or they would grow better.
What we were
gathering from this:
If the Mother Tree was trying
to make a favorable place
for her seedlings
then she would
encourage their growth,
so send more
nutrients to those seedlings
and they would grow better.
If the Mother Tree knew that
the environment around her
was not very
hospitable for her young,
in other words,
if there were diseases
or insects around,
she would it make more difficult
for those seedlings to grow.
She would be
antagonistic towards them
or become more competitive.
This said to me that
the Mother Tree was
communicating with her young,
in order to favor
the survival of those seedlings,
whether they should be
further away or close to her
depending on how
favorable the environment was.
We are doing these experiments
out in the forest as well.
So we'll go to big
old Mother Trees
and grow seedlings
that are related
or distantly related to her
and see how they perform.
So we will verify what we are
seeing in the greenhouse
with what's
going on in the forest.
Trees are studied and measured,
cultivated and cut.
They seem defenseless,
because they can't run
away from any threat.
Some plants however,
have developed amazing skills
to react to attacks.
The response of this Mimosa
makes it obvious
that even plants
don't like to be hurt.
Trees have feelings.
They can feel pain.
But can also
have emotions such as fear.
This is apparent for example,
in this Oak behind us.
It grows these
clusters of twigs.
Signs of great distress.
But the Oak will behave
differently if for example,
attacked by insects
that bore into its bark.
It would feel pain.
Electrical signals
would run through its fiber
and the Oak would
accumulate defense substances.
At the same time
it will alarm its colleagues
via root networks and fungi.
So that they could already
accumulate defense substances
although they haven't
been attacked yet.
Once the insects arrive,
the other Oaks will be prepared.
A forest is much healthier
and more resistant
when individual trees
warn the rest of the community.
as soon as they realize
something is wrong.
At the same time
that we were looking
at Carbon transfer,
or this energy transfer,
we were also looking at defense
signal transfers
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
It's mysterious that a plant
would leak
these particular compounds
and that a fungus
would pick them up
and transmit them
through their hyphae
to another plant.
We haven't seen this before,
this flow
of signaling molecules.
We're trying to figure out
what these signals are.
We have an idea
that there are certain
compounds involved.
What happens is that
the injured seedling
sends defense signals.
The seedling that
receives the signal,
or that piece of communication,
those words, if you can
think of it that way,
Then they up-regulate
their defense genes.
Those genes start to produce
more defense enzymes.
Those enzymes increase the
defense of those seedlings
against the attack
by those insects.
When you are scared,
your body is producing chemicals
that are telling your whole body
that you are scared.
It's getting your
legs ready to run,
and your arms ready
to do whatever they need to do.
Those chemicals are specific
for that purpose.
If those would leak
out of your feet
and something in the ground,
let's say a fungus,
would pick up those chemicals
and transmit them
through the ground.
and someone else standing nearby
would pick up those chemicals
through their feet
and get scared,
because they would get those
scary chemicals in their body.
That's what we
are looking at with the trees.
This guy gets scared
it's sending those chemicals
among its own body
and then they go out
into the roots.
The question is,
whether the fungi,
which are an
entirely different organism,
not a tree,
are moving those chemicals
through the ground.
and if those are being
picked up by the other trees.
Specifically, I am looking at
defense signals, which I induce
using Western Spruce Budworm
onto Douglas Fir.
The tree that has the
Western Spruce Budworm
elicits a response from the tree
which is sent into
the mycorrhizal network
and gets transferred to
an adjacent seedling
that is attached via a
mycorrhizal network.
Two plants in a pot.
They are Douglas Fir seedlings;
which is what we tend to use,
they form strong
mycorrhizal networks.
They are planted
inside mesh-bags.
Those mesh-bags
can either be very small
in their pore-size and block
mycorrhizal networks
or a bit larger and allow
mycorrhizal networks.
So we compare treatments,
where they are networks
to treatment
where there are not,
and see if that transfer occurs.
This is where we place
the Spruce Budworms
and entice them to eat these
little budding areas.
You clip off the branches
and then you dip them
in liquid nitrogen.
You scrape off the needles
and put the stem
in another vile.
You dip it in liquid nitrogen,
because you want to freeze
what is happening.
You measure gene expression
by looking at RNA,
which is a really
short-lived chemical.
It can degrade very quickly.
You want to take it
off the live plant
and dip it in
the liquid nitrogen
as fast as you can.
The defense signals,
or the warning signals,
are happening really quickly.
So when there is an injury,
there is an almost
instant communication.
There is an immediate
up-regulation of genes
that increases the defense.
It is actually knowledge
that is being passed on
from the seedling that is
injured to the new one.
That knowledge,
is based in wisdom.
I think of it more
as passing on wisdom.
[BURIAL FOREST]
[]
It's important for a forest
to sustain all its members.
Including old and dying trees.
Even stumps
that you would expect
to have died 100's of years ago
are being kept alive.
Possibly they have stored
memories that they can pass on.
This is an ancient stump,
and it is still alive.
The inner part of the tree,
the hardwood.
Is without life.
Much like dead bone.
That's why this one
is rotten inside.
In trees,
life is located in the sapwood.
In the cambium,
and in the roots.
And all of this is
still alive in this one here.
The question is,
how can this be possible?
It doesn't have any more leaves
to photosynthesize
and nourish itself.
Still, it must consume sugar,
otherwise it would die.
The only possible explanation
is that this tree over there
keeps the stump alive
via root connections,
that are running across here.
It appears
very social and touching
that this old stump
is still being nurtured.
The forest's own
nursery home for the elderly.
When trees are cut,
fall over or
break over with the wind
the stump continues to live.
We can tell that it's living,
because the cambium in the bark
grow over the top of the stump.
There is no way it will
grow into a new tree,
because is there is no seed
or there is no
epical meristem there.
The stump is still alive,
because it's
root systems are grafted
to its neighbors,
or they are linked in
through their
mycorrhizal networks, or both.
When you have that pathway,
the trees that are
alive around it
are sending Carbon
from the foliage
down into
the root systems of the stump
and keeping that stump alive.
Where does a tree
store its information?
How valuable is such
a stump to the community?
So far, we don't know
where a tree's memory is located
and where it stores experiences.
For example,
droughts that
occurred a long time ago
can influence a tree's behavior
over many years.
This demonstrates they store
this information somewhere
It is quite likely that
this storage sits partially
or even entirely in the roots.
An ancient stump like this
might pass on its knowledge
to the neighboring trees
and it's descendants.
It's now known that processes
occur in the root tips
which are quite similar
to those of the brain.
Obviously it is presumptuous
to claim that trees
have a brain just like animals.
However, they make
decisions within seconds
that are partially
processed electrically.
All of this
takes place in the roots.
So maybe,
we can call this a tree brain.
Through these
various experiments
and our discoveries,
I've started to think about
the root systems
of trees in forests
as the brains of the forest.
There is a number
of reasons for this.
First it's the pattern
of these connections,
the pattern of the network.
When we look
at how it's arranged,
it's very much like how
a brain is organized.
There are certain
central hubs in forests,
where things
are highly connected.
Then there are satellite nodes,
where things are less connected.
If you look at a neural network,
it's patterned
very much in the same way.
Secondly, the idea that
there are chemicals
that are transmitting from
a mycorrhizal root-tip
or root of one tree through
the mycorrhizal network
to another tree.
This is like in our brains
we have neurotransmitters.
It's not
that much different than
Carbon, Methyl Jasmonate,
Nitrogen and water
moving back and forth
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
There is another part
to the story as well.
In dying Pine forests,
for example,
that are attacked
by Mountain Pine Beetle,
those dying trees affect the
mycorrhizal communities.
Seedlings in healthy forests
have a better
suite of defense enzymes
than those from dying forests.
We know that it's not
just a Carbon legacy
that is passed on,
it's also messages
about the defense chemistry
of the new seedlings coming up.
We really need
to think more carefully
about how
we manage these dying forests.
We will be dealing with
this more and more.
Tree species will be changing
as the climate changes.
There's going to be a mortality.
Our response has been to
cut those trees down
as quickly as possible,
make them into
two-by-fours and sell them.
You can easily see that
by doing that we're
cutting off the opportunity
for the old trees,
the dying trees,
to pass their legacy onto
the new generations.
When we cut down trees,
not only do we disturb
the micro-climate of the forest,
But also the relationship
between the trees.
They become loners,
and we won't be able to observe
these wonderful
processes anymore.
Managed forests
are a convenient way
to transform
the natural disorder
into efficient,
fast growing plantations
of rogue trees.
It's getting quiet.
Planted forests don't talk much.
Plantations are like
a group of only children
without parental guidance.
These trees are planted with
clipped and damaged roots.
which results in
disrupted communication.
Along with many
other dysfunctions.
The trees are forced
to fend for themselves.
Which leaves them
more vulnerable.
If a tree suffers,
it won't receive
help from its neighbors.
If one thrives and could share,
It would rather
grow a little faster.
Which is also not healthy.
In a forest,
speed is always negative.
In Germany there are
no more pristine forests left.
In the past centuries,
numerous activities
took place everywhere
in the forests.
Here for example,
charcoal production took place.
This forest will likely be
very close to natural again,
In about 100 to 200 years.
Only very few places like this
still exist in Germany.
But currently
the forest industry
is becoming
increasingly radical
and more wood
is being harvested.
Sadly we are
turning back the clock.
[heavy machinery]
These plantations are
increasingly managed
with heavy machinery,
and these machines
compress the soil.
They destroy the pore volume
and life in
the soils suffocates.
This includes also the fungi
which are extremely important
for communication between trees.
Most machines have wide tires
so damage caused is not
so visible on the surface.
However compaction remains
and increases
with the size of the tires.
The soil becomes compacted
down to two meters.
This is comparable to a sponge
that has been squeezed.
But unlike a sponge,
soil doesn't recover.
Pore size is lost
along with Oxygen content.
Compared to before
in some cases,
only as little as five percent
of the water can be stored.
This is extremely
dangerous for trees
because here,
during summer,
trees depend on
winter precipitation.
And if this can't
be stored anymore,
the trees may
die of thirst during summer.
According to geologists,
soil damage below 20 cm
remains beyond repair
until the next Ice-age.
In horse logging,
harvested stems are first cut
to a maximum of 5 m.
A length that
a horse can handle.
The horse navigates gently
around big and small trees,
and barely causes any damage.
Even today, horse logging
could be done on a large scale.
However most horse loggers
don't find enough work.
Because there isn't
sufficient demand
One could argue that
if all harvesting
were done only with horses
it would exceed
the number of horses available.
That may be true
but when the demand grew,
more people would be motivated
to practice horse logging.
It is a wonderful job that has
already been practiced
For thousands of years.
I am certain that today
it could be just as successful.
Obviously we would
need more personnel
to replace
large machinery.
One harvester
replaces 12 workers.
If we could turn back time,
we could create 12 new jobs.
Interestingly enough,
this pays off.
We earn more
because we preserve the soil
and the forest
is more productive.
It grows more wood
and better quality.
While we generate more jobs.
More money,
more jobs.
I like that.
We didn't treat forests
like families at all.
We've treated them like
rows of corn plants, basically.
This new understanding
that we suddenly had,
that Mother Trees were linked
to all these seedlings
and other trees below ground
and favoring her kin,
completely turned
the idea of how
we manage forests
upside down.
Now, instead of rows of trees,
it's families of trees.
How you treat a family of trees
is going to be very different
than how you would treat
individual rows of trees.
As a forester, you like to think
that you are helping the forest.
But in fact,
its comparable to a small child
that fiddles with the clockwork,
thinking that it can make it
run smoother afterwards.
That means we need to
keep out of such an ecosystem
if we want it to function.
We can take something
every once in a while
but once we start
to destroy things
we will eventually reach
a point of no return.
We as humans make great demands.
We want to be
warm during the winter
so we heat our homes with wood.
We want furniture.
We want to use paper.
That's OK,
but obviously
this clashes with the idea
of an intact forest.
We should be aware
that when we use a chainsaw
we can't be doing any good.
We pretty much slaughter a tree.
[chainsaw buzzing]
[giant crash]
As long as there is
a certain limit to it,
the forest will be able to cope.
But if we take too much
it will be destroyed.
What every one of us can do
to take better care of forests,
is simply to reduce consumption.
With over seven billion people,
we can't be
going on at this level.
Is this a survival of
the fittest after all?
We use trees
to provide wood for our homes,
which we then build where
once these trees used to be.
Our cities grow
and displace the forests.
Have we unwillingly
turned to enemies,
who compete for the same ground?
Is there an alternative
to how we treat forests,
so that we are able to coexist
and preserve what is still left?
In the world of forestry,
foresters generally don't
pay any attention to it.
They either don't know about it
or they're so wrapped up
in the traditional ways
of practicing forestry.
They've become so rigid
in how they do things,
that the idea, that things can
be connected below ground
and therefore, to conserve
those connections
would mean doing forestry
in a very different way.
We need to change terminology.
We shouldn't claim that
we are tending to the forest
when we are in fact
utilizing wood.
Just as a butcher
is not an animal keeper,
a forester is no forest keeper.
Once we realize that
we always destroy something
when we use a chainsaw,
we might start to treat
the forest more carefully.
I think that there is an
enormous opportunity
to transform
how we practice forestry,
so that our forest
are more wise,
have their language intact,
have their families intact.
They're going to be
around in the future.
Whereas the planted forests
that we are putting back,
where we don't
conserve those features,
or those qualities
of a community,
those ones will be
way more at risk.
Just like if we become
isolated in our societies,
we are more at risk.
It's not any different
than forests.
The municipality of Hmmel,
where I'm a forest ranger.
Has placed all of the
remaining Beech tree forests
under protection.
That's very rare in Germany.
At over 200, these Beech trees
are comparatively old.
Here they can live
their social lives
entirely undisturbed.
Only in forests like this,
can one observe the intact
social life of trees.
It is possible
to manage forests so gently,
that they can emulate
pristine forest processes.
But that means removing only
single trees here and there.
Leaving the rest
of the social community alone.
Planting, tending,
producing great wood qualities.
Trees can manage this
all by themselves.
We can pretty much sit back.
When people hear about
connections below ground
and that there is mothering
going on in forests,
people immediate say:
"Of course,
I see this all the time.
I knew this all the time."
I am so glad
that you've done the science
that validates what I've
always felt about a forest.
To me, that's hugely powerful.
There's already
a sense out there.
We as humans
are part of that forest
and what we're perceiving
is really valuable.
We should be
paying attention to that,
because it's true.
It's true in our hearts
and it's true in the forest.
To me that's
a super important message
that this is a natural fit.
It's a natural fit in forests
and it's a natural fit with how
we interact with forests.
It's something we
can learn from forests
to bring to our own sense
of community and family as well.
Hopefully scientists
like Suzanne Simard
and observers
like Peter Wohlleben
are able to change the
way we look at trees.
Looking at nature has
often helped engineers
to find inspiration for
groundbreaking inventions.
Looking at the forest might
inspire us to live
in a healthy human community
that appreciates the natural
processes surrounding us.
Next time we take
a walk in the forest
and ask ourselves
if trees can talk,
the answer lies
below the surface.
Trees do talk.
What they want to tell us
remains yet to be uncovered.
Maybe all they say is,
"Let us be."
Can you imagine, being a tree
living by yourself?
Without neighbors?
Without others around
to care for you?
Trees don't do well when
they're by themselves.
They blow over,
or they get too much sun
or too much water
or they're more at risk
of getting a disease.
But when they are in a community
and they have neighbors around
that protect them,
they are caring for each other.
They're making sure they
are a productive,
healthy, vibrant,
diverse community of trees.
Families of trees.
[]
-[wind through trees]
[traffic]
We are a connected society.
We are connected to our
families and friends,
but also to our jobs and duties.
We are connected
over computer networks,
phone lines
and traffic junctions.
The world surrounding us is in
constant movement and growth.
We left our houses made of wood
to plant an artificial forest
from concrete, glass and metal.
It's not easy escaping a world
where everything is connected,
to spend some time in the forest
where we seek quiet and rest
from our unsteady lives.
We expect to find some kind
of wisdom in the forest,
but we don't understand
the voice of nature.
If those trees could only talk!
Little do we know,
that in between
this world of stillness,
words are rushing
back and forth.
We only have to tilt
our heads down and listen...
to our roots.
[serene music]
The Coastal Pacific Rain forest
of North America.
These forests are special
and known all over the world.
Here in British Columbia,
one can find trees of heights
around 100 meters
and over 1 000 years of age.
People walk amongst
these ancient giants
in a sense of spiritual
wonder and respect.
But not anymore
are these places only described
by mythological metaphors.
Scientists begin to understand
the importance of these forests
as they discover more details
about the relationships
between trees
on a microscopic scale.
Here in Canada,
at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver,
Dr. Suzanne Simard, Professor
of Forest Ecology,
conducts
ground-breaking research.
Together with a team
of passionate forest scientists,
she tries to find out more
about the methods
of communication amongst trees.
Before I became a professor
I was actually a forester.
And before that I grew up
in the Inland Rain forest
of British Columbia.
As a forester I really was
moving into an area that
I loved dear to my heart.
I knew forests.
As I started working for
the forest industry,
I started to realize
that what was happening
didn't really mesh very well
with what I understood
forests to work like.
My job was
to go into old clear cuts
or new clear cuts and prescribe
trees to be planted.
What the
forest industry was doing then
was planting one or two
species in clear cuts.
This was very different
than what I understood
forests to grow like,
where there's mixes of species.
When we go walking in the woods
we expect to find
nature untouched and pure,
but in fact
we wander through an environment
that has been largely
shaped by men.
Pristine forests are rather
unique in the world.
In a small country like Germany
forests have been
intensively managed
by people for centuries,
almost everywhere you go.
In an old, close to natural
Beech-forest in The Eifel,
a low mountain range
in the West of Germany,
forest ranger Peter Wohlleben
is well aware of the value
of the trees in his district.
For more than two decades
he made his observations.
In his bestselling book "The
hidden life of trees"
he describes the most curious
and unexpected things
that are going on in his forest.
He knows that this place
is a rare treasure
that needs to be protected.
Originally all of Germany
would have looked
like this old Beech-forest.
80% of the area was covered
with natural Beech-forest.
mixed with other tree species.
But today
there's only a fraction left
and we have
plantation-forests everywhere.
These consists
mostly of plantations
with even edged conifers
that have been planted
and are managed
with heavy machinery.
What happened was
that they ended up using
the same species everywhere.
The standard practice was
to clear-cut and then plant
either Pine or Fir or Spruce.
One species.
And I thought,
what was going on here.
The community
was not intact any more.
It was much different
than what I grew knowing
about these forests.
I studied forestry.
and started my career
the classical way.
I prescribed small clear cuts.
Cut down such beautiful
old Beech trees like these.
and used insecticides.
As a teenager I wanted
to become a conservationist
but I started to realize,
that I was in fact
destroying everything.
And that wasn't what I wanted.
When I looked at those trees
I found that they didn't
perform that well.
They didn't grow very well.
They were sickly.
They weren't that healthy.
As I became a scientist
after a few years as a forester,
I started to examine why
these trees didn't seem
to grow well when
they were by themselves.
I found that when we remove
certain species
of their neighbors that trees
actually became ill.
They became diseased and more
at risk of insect attack.
I wanted to understand
why that was the case.
I thought some of the story
might be going on below ground.
What we call a tree
is only what is
visible above ground.
We consider a tree to consist
only of trunk and crown.
However, the major part of its
life takes place underground.
What happens in the forest
is actually more
than what meets the eye.
The root system of a tree
can spread as far
as two to four times
the diameter of its crown.
Only scientists
with state of the art
research techniques
are able to dig
deep enough into this matter
to uncover that these roots
are more than only water pipes.
I started looking at
the root systems
and I found that the roots
of these different species
when they grew together,
Birch and Fir
and Cedar and Hemlock,
were all intertwined
and linked together.
I learned later on
through more research
as I went into my PhD
that these root systems
actually formed what is called
a Mycorrhizal
Fungal Association.
Mycorrhizal fungi are
certain species of fungi
which associate with all of
the tree species worldwide.
They form a
mutualistic relationship
where the fungus
grows into the root
and provides the root
with nutrients and water
that the fungus
gathers from the soil.
Mushrooms are only
the fruiting bodies of fungi.
Just like apples
are the fruit of apple trees.
Fungi are very
underestimated organisms
because so far most of us
appreciate only the fruit.
Fungi can spread
over several square kilo meters.
One teaspoon of soil may contain
several kilo meters
of string like hyphae
that form the
internet of the forest.
For their services,
they charge sugar and
other products
of tree photosynthesis.
The tree shares up to a third
of its total production
with the fungi.
We found,
when we mapped these forests,
that all of the trees were
all linked together
in a single massive network.
So then I thought OK,
if their linked below ground
then what are these
linkages about.
How does this actually affect
how trees are growing.
We did some more sophisticated
experiments,
once we knew that
those links were there.
We labeled one tree
with an isotope
and traced it from that
tree to its neighbor.
We found that carbon molecules
were moving
from one tree to another tree
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
Then we thought
if carbon is involved,
maybe there's other molecules
involved as well.
We started labeling trees
with Nitrogen and Phosphorus
and deuterated water.
We found that
all of these elements
move back and forth
between the trees.
That was the rudimentary
understanding of
the language of trees.
So these Birch trees here
will be linked
to other Birch trees,
but also to the Douglas Fir
and the Hemlock behind it.
You can see their root-systems
coming down there.
They straight into the ground.
The mycorrhizal network
is just below the surface
of the forest floor.
As you walk,
you are only centimeters
or millimeters away,
walking on top of this network.
The network below ground
can easily be imagined
as a market place,
where the food
is either offered or received
by all the trees
that are linked together.
But what about competition?
If all are eating
at the same table,
then why
don't they steal from each other
and suck each other dry,
in a struggle
for the survival of the fittest?
Trees of one species
are not competitors.
On the contrary,
They actually support each other
almost unconditionally.
The weak
are supported by the strong.
Only together they can
for example,
regulate the micro-climate
and lower the air temperature.
Because trees love it
cool and moist.
You can almost call this
Tree Communism.
And it functions perfectly,
compared to human communism.
Here, the individual is not
as important as the community.
Trees do care for each other.
We think of that as an
interaction between trees,
but really they're
looking after each other.
[speaking foreign language]
My Name is Sm'hayetsk.
I'm Teresa Ryan.
I'm Tsimshian.
I'm from the Gitlan tribe
of the Tsimshian.
My house is Xpe Hanaax.
I'm from
the Ganhada Clan; Raven.
My interest in research
is the relationships
of the forests to Salmon.
I'm a Fisheries Scientist.
A Fisheries Aquatic Ecologist.
I'm also a Cedar Weaver.
A traditional
Tsimshian Cedar Weaver.
We have an understanding of
these ecosystems around us
and the relationships of
things within them.
In many of our languages we have
certain words to describe that.
In Sm'algyax
we say "of one heart".
The Nuu-chah-nulth people
on Vancouver Island
say "Everything is one".
It demonstrates
those relationships
that we've known
and understood for a long time.
When we
mistake trees for loners,
each of them
growing by themselves,
oblivious to their neighbors
and to the environment,
we underestimate them by far.
If forests are actually
not the kind
of harsh environment
we expect them to be.
Where competition
determines the survival
of the strongest,
fastest and toughest,
then maybe a closer look
might reveal
even further relationships
that go beyond our expectations.
The forest industry
wants trees to grow quickly.
Initially trees do
grow quite fast,
when they grow by themselves
However that is not
what they prefer.
Normally trees would
rather cuddle
and stand closely together.
They love company
and like to take things slow.
We need to relearn that trees
do not need to be separated
from alleged competitors.
On the contrary,
we need to allow them
to live in tight groups
just as they like it.
There is in fact
friendship among trees.
It doesn't happen very often
because tree seedlings
cannot choose
whom they
will be growing next to
for the rest of their lives.
Maybe one out of 50 trees
will become
friends with its neighbor.
Like these two.
They grow their branches
away from each other,
so that they don't interfere.
Their roots
intertwine intensively.
It's like an old couple.
If one of them dies
The one
left behind might suffer,
and die soon after.
For a tree,
it is a disaster when
the social network collapses
You can observe this
right here in this forest.
Three trees have blown over.
The remaining tree is now
left by itself and gets sick.
The tips
of its branches die back.
The leaves
turn earlier in the fall
so it can't
photosynthesize properly
It really suffers.
In case it is not able
to reconnect with other trees,
it will likely die as well.
Do trees have
a sense of friendship?
It's language
that we are using here
to describe how trees
relate to each other.
In ecology we call
those things interactions.
Interactions is
a very clinical term.
When we think
of interactions, we think of:
Do they help each other?
Do they compete with each other?
Is one a parasite or a pathogen?
Species interact
in a myriad of ways.
Some of them are beneficial.
In Science
we call this facilitation.
In human relations we
call that friendship.
A grove of Maple Trees
with Cedar in it
will indicate to us that
the Cedar has enough moisture.
It's got the right
moisture regime.
When Cedar and
Maple are growing together,
there is a relationship
with those two trees.
So it's just
a matter of language.
When I think back to
my early work with plantations
and we were
planting single species of trees
and weeding out the
species we didn't want,
I found that
Douglas Fir would suffer,
when we took Birch away from it.
We were affecting
that facilitation between them.
The transfer
of Carbon back and forth,
the nutrition that
the Birch provided for the Fir.
The resistance against
the pathogens in the soil.
When we took the Birch away,
Douglas Fir lost its friend.
They lost its facilitator.
So is there
friendship in forests?
I can use that language.
Sure there is
friendship in forests.
There are mutualistic
facilitative relationships
going on all the time.
Tree connections
may form bonds of friendship,
but they
also link each tree
to all the others over hubs,
very similar
to a computer network.
Scientists who try to visualize
these connections
have been creating
complex models
that look like a map.
A map
of the Wood Wide Web.
We were also able to identify
by looking at this map,
which trees
were the most important
part of the network.
Which ones were
the most highly linked.
We found that
the biggest, oldest trees
were the most highly linked.
We ended up
calling these Mother Trees,
because we discovered
through this map,
that the younger ones
were growing up by
hooking into the network
and growing up
around these Mother Trees.
Trees are very social beings.
The parents, the mother trees,
are looking after
their offspring.
Their roots grow together
and they feed them
with a sugar solution.
One could say that
the mother tree
suckle their offspring.
To some it may seem strange
comparing the flow
of nutrients between older
trees and their kin
with human relationships.
Analogies like that,
based on the observations
of a practitioner
should rather stand on a solid
ground of scientific facts.
At UBC, students from the
faculty of forestry
conduct basic research
about the relationships
between Mother Trees
and their kin.
All of our experiments
involve both field
and greenhouse experiments.
We use
similar techniques in both,
to verify what is going
on in the other one.
We go into a Douglas Fir
forest to gather soil.
That soil has a mixture
of mycorrhizal fungi
that prefer
to associate with Douglas Fir.
We use that mixture to
inoculate our trees.
We grow 'Mother trees',
basically seedlings in pots,
inside mesh-bags.
These mesh-bags
would either allow
the mycorrhizal network to form
with the neighboring
seedling, or not.
We use mesh-bag
to keep the roots
from going through
and touching each other
and transferring between roots.
We want just the fungi
to meet in the middle.
Over a period of a few months,
we allow these two seedlings,
the 'Mother Tree' and her kin,
or the 'Mother Tree'
and the stranger,
to communicate with each other
through this mycorrhizal
network that had formed.
We had to be
able to do the experiment
in the greenhouse,
so we couldn't bring in
a big old Mother Tree and
plant her in a plot.
We had to use seedlings,
because of the restrictive
environment of a greenhouse.
The seedling that grew up first
was well established and
had more nutrients
to spare than the one that
was planted later.
That one that was
previously established
had more resources
than it needed.
It was able to shuttle
some of those resources
to its little brother that
was growing up next to it.
The term Mother Tree is
a really nice term
because we understand
the importance
of mothers in families.
It's a term that
resonates with people.
But it's probably not the most
scientifically accurate term.
What we are really talking
about is relatedness.
Whether Mother Trees are related
to trees around her or new trees
that are coming up
in her neighborhood.
It's really about
whether their genetics
are well related
to each other or not.
Whether they are distant
or close together.
One of the
differential responses was
when the new seedling,
the younger sibling if you will,
was related to
the older seedling.
the big seedling actually
slowed down its growth rate.
It appeared that
it would make room
for its younger sibling to grow.
We would label these mother
trees with Carbon 13.
Which is an isotope
that we injected
into a plastic bag
around the seedling.
That bag completely
seals in the air.
Then we allow the seedling
to photosynthesize.
As we apply the treatment,
the seedling is only able
to photosynthesize with 13 CO2.
Any sugars, any products that
it makes will be labeled.
We then look for that C13
in the recipient plants.
Remember the recipients are
either kin or stranger.
So we'll look at the ratio
of the amount of
carbon that is present.
We bring the pots
into the potting room,
we clip them and then we
clean all the roots,
we brush-off all the dirt,
we wash them
and then they are ready
to be morphotyped.
We do that using a microscope.
We look for all the fungal
connections on the root-tips.
After that
they are ready to be dried.
We do that
in a large drying oven.
After that
each one of those portions
is frozen separately
using liquid nitrogen.
Then you are able to grind them
using mortar and pestle.
That creates a powder
that is weighed
in very small increments.
We send those to the lab
for some micro-spectroscopy.
to evaluate how much
C13 is in the sample.
And we found out that seedlings
that were kin seedlings
were receiving more Carbon
from Mother Trees
than strangers were.
Then it starts
to look like a family.
The Mother Tree
is nurturing her own family
but she is also looking out
for her whole neighborhood.
So it's not just a family.
It's a whole community of trees.
Each with their own role
to play in the forest.
Mothers who care lovingly
for their neighborhood
and their children?
Also Peter Wohlleben
has a way of expressing
the behaviors of trees
in a very humanized language.
When guiding groups of visitors
through his forest,
this helps to make
biological mechanisms
understandable for everyone.
When he talks
about tree families
he goes further by claiming
that they even
provide a good education.
This a typical
Beech kindergarten.
Beech trees grow up in groups,
just like this one.
Parents raise their children
very strictly.
by limiting the available light.
Only three percent of
the sunlight reaches the ground.
So that the small trees need to
stretch to the remaining light.
The benefit of this is that
they grow straight trunks
Which can resist strong winds.
However like in any class
or kindergarten,
there are little rascals
that do as they please.
They grow this way,
they grow that way.
They think "I don't have to
stretch towards the light"
Slowly their
classmates surpass them
and switch off
the last bit of light
so that they die off.
Eventually,
from this entire bunch
Only one or two trees
will remain to grow old.
We discovered that
the Mother Tree
was affecting
how those seedlings grew.
So if we changed the linkages
or we removed them,
those seedlings
would behave differently.
They would either grow worse
or they would grow better.
What we were
gathering from this:
If the Mother Tree was trying
to make a favorable place
for her seedlings
then she would
encourage their growth,
so send more
nutrients to those seedlings
and they would grow better.
If the Mother Tree knew that
the environment around her
was not very
hospitable for her young,
in other words,
if there were diseases
or insects around,
she would it make more difficult
for those seedlings to grow.
She would be
antagonistic towards them
or become more competitive.
This said to me that
the Mother Tree was
communicating with her young,
in order to favor
the survival of those seedlings,
whether they should be
further away or close to her
depending on how
favorable the environment was.
We are doing these experiments
out in the forest as well.
So we'll go to big
old Mother Trees
and grow seedlings
that are related
or distantly related to her
and see how they perform.
So we will verify what we are
seeing in the greenhouse
with what's
going on in the forest.
Trees are studied and measured,
cultivated and cut.
They seem defenseless,
because they can't run
away from any threat.
Some plants however,
have developed amazing skills
to react to attacks.
The response of this Mimosa
makes it obvious
that even plants
don't like to be hurt.
Trees have feelings.
They can feel pain.
But can also
have emotions such as fear.
This is apparent for example,
in this Oak behind us.
It grows these
clusters of twigs.
Signs of great distress.
But the Oak will behave
differently if for example,
attacked by insects
that bore into its bark.
It would feel pain.
Electrical signals
would run through its fiber
and the Oak would
accumulate defense substances.
At the same time
it will alarm its colleagues
via root networks and fungi.
So that they could already
accumulate defense substances
although they haven't
been attacked yet.
Once the insects arrive,
the other Oaks will be prepared.
A forest is much healthier
and more resistant
when individual trees
warn the rest of the community.
as soon as they realize
something is wrong.
At the same time
that we were looking
at Carbon transfer,
or this energy transfer,
we were also looking at defense
signal transfers
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
It's mysterious that a plant
would leak
these particular compounds
and that a fungus
would pick them up
and transmit them
through their hyphae
to another plant.
We haven't seen this before,
this flow
of signaling molecules.
We're trying to figure out
what these signals are.
We have an idea
that there are certain
compounds involved.
What happens is that
the injured seedling
sends defense signals.
The seedling that
receives the signal,
or that piece of communication,
those words, if you can
think of it that way,
Then they up-regulate
their defense genes.
Those genes start to produce
more defense enzymes.
Those enzymes increase the
defense of those seedlings
against the attack
by those insects.
When you are scared,
your body is producing chemicals
that are telling your whole body
that you are scared.
It's getting your
legs ready to run,
and your arms ready
to do whatever they need to do.
Those chemicals are specific
for that purpose.
If those would leak
out of your feet
and something in the ground,
let's say a fungus,
would pick up those chemicals
and transmit them
through the ground.
and someone else standing nearby
would pick up those chemicals
through their feet
and get scared,
because they would get those
scary chemicals in their body.
That's what we
are looking at with the trees.
This guy gets scared
it's sending those chemicals
among its own body
and then they go out
into the roots.
The question is,
whether the fungi,
which are an
entirely different organism,
not a tree,
are moving those chemicals
through the ground.
and if those are being
picked up by the other trees.
Specifically, I am looking at
defense signals, which I induce
using Western Spruce Budworm
onto Douglas Fir.
The tree that has the
Western Spruce Budworm
elicits a response from the tree
which is sent into
the mycorrhizal network
and gets transferred to
an adjacent seedling
that is attached via a
mycorrhizal network.
Two plants in a pot.
They are Douglas Fir seedlings;
which is what we tend to use,
they form strong
mycorrhizal networks.
They are planted
inside mesh-bags.
Those mesh-bags
can either be very small
in their pore-size and block
mycorrhizal networks
or a bit larger and allow
mycorrhizal networks.
So we compare treatments,
where they are networks
to treatment
where there are not,
and see if that transfer occurs.
This is where we place
the Spruce Budworms
and entice them to eat these
little budding areas.
You clip off the branches
and then you dip them
in liquid nitrogen.
You scrape off the needles
and put the stem
in another vile.
You dip it in liquid nitrogen,
because you want to freeze
what is happening.
You measure gene expression
by looking at RNA,
which is a really
short-lived chemical.
It can degrade very quickly.
You want to take it
off the live plant
and dip it in
the liquid nitrogen
as fast as you can.
The defense signals,
or the warning signals,
are happening really quickly.
So when there is an injury,
there is an almost
instant communication.
There is an immediate
up-regulation of genes
that increases the defense.
It is actually knowledge
that is being passed on
from the seedling that is
injured to the new one.
That knowledge,
is based in wisdom.
I think of it more
as passing on wisdom.
[BURIAL FOREST]
[]
It's important for a forest
to sustain all its members.
Including old and dying trees.
Even stumps
that you would expect
to have died 100's of years ago
are being kept alive.
Possibly they have stored
memories that they can pass on.
This is an ancient stump,
and it is still alive.
The inner part of the tree,
the hardwood.
Is without life.
Much like dead bone.
That's why this one
is rotten inside.
In trees,
life is located in the sapwood.
In the cambium,
and in the roots.
And all of this is
still alive in this one here.
The question is,
how can this be possible?
It doesn't have any more leaves
to photosynthesize
and nourish itself.
Still, it must consume sugar,
otherwise it would die.
The only possible explanation
is that this tree over there
keeps the stump alive
via root connections,
that are running across here.
It appears
very social and touching
that this old stump
is still being nurtured.
The forest's own
nursery home for the elderly.
When trees are cut,
fall over or
break over with the wind
the stump continues to live.
We can tell that it's living,
because the cambium in the bark
grow over the top of the stump.
There is no way it will
grow into a new tree,
because is there is no seed
or there is no
epical meristem there.
The stump is still alive,
because it's
root systems are grafted
to its neighbors,
or they are linked in
through their
mycorrhizal networks, or both.
When you have that pathway,
the trees that are
alive around it
are sending Carbon
from the foliage
down into
the root systems of the stump
and keeping that stump alive.
Where does a tree
store its information?
How valuable is such
a stump to the community?
So far, we don't know
where a tree's memory is located
and where it stores experiences.
For example,
droughts that
occurred a long time ago
can influence a tree's behavior
over many years.
This demonstrates they store
this information somewhere
It is quite likely that
this storage sits partially
or even entirely in the roots.
An ancient stump like this
might pass on its knowledge
to the neighboring trees
and it's descendants.
It's now known that processes
occur in the root tips
which are quite similar
to those of the brain.
Obviously it is presumptuous
to claim that trees
have a brain just like animals.
However, they make
decisions within seconds
that are partially
processed electrically.
All of this
takes place in the roots.
So maybe,
we can call this a tree brain.
Through these
various experiments
and our discoveries,
I've started to think about
the root systems
of trees in forests
as the brains of the forest.
There is a number
of reasons for this.
First it's the pattern
of these connections,
the pattern of the network.
When we look
at how it's arranged,
it's very much like how
a brain is organized.
There are certain
central hubs in forests,
where things
are highly connected.
Then there are satellite nodes,
where things are less connected.
If you look at a neural network,
it's patterned
very much in the same way.
Secondly, the idea that
there are chemicals
that are transmitting from
a mycorrhizal root-tip
or root of one tree through
the mycorrhizal network
to another tree.
This is like in our brains
we have neurotransmitters.
It's not
that much different than
Carbon, Methyl Jasmonate,
Nitrogen and water
moving back and forth
through these
mycorrhizal networks.
There is another part
to the story as well.
In dying Pine forests,
for example,
that are attacked
by Mountain Pine Beetle,
those dying trees affect the
mycorrhizal communities.
Seedlings in healthy forests
have a better
suite of defense enzymes
than those from dying forests.
We know that it's not
just a Carbon legacy
that is passed on,
it's also messages
about the defense chemistry
of the new seedlings coming up.
We really need
to think more carefully
about how
we manage these dying forests.
We will be dealing with
this more and more.
Tree species will be changing
as the climate changes.
There's going to be a mortality.
Our response has been to
cut those trees down
as quickly as possible,
make them into
two-by-fours and sell them.
You can easily see that
by doing that we're
cutting off the opportunity
for the old trees,
the dying trees,
to pass their legacy onto
the new generations.
When we cut down trees,
not only do we disturb
the micro-climate of the forest,
But also the relationship
between the trees.
They become loners,
and we won't be able to observe
these wonderful
processes anymore.
Managed forests
are a convenient way
to transform
the natural disorder
into efficient,
fast growing plantations
of rogue trees.
It's getting quiet.
Planted forests don't talk much.
Plantations are like
a group of only children
without parental guidance.
These trees are planted with
clipped and damaged roots.
which results in
disrupted communication.
Along with many
other dysfunctions.
The trees are forced
to fend for themselves.
Which leaves them
more vulnerable.
If a tree suffers,
it won't receive
help from its neighbors.
If one thrives and could share,
It would rather
grow a little faster.
Which is also not healthy.
In a forest,
speed is always negative.
In Germany there are
no more pristine forests left.
In the past centuries,
numerous activities
took place everywhere
in the forests.
Here for example,
charcoal production took place.
This forest will likely be
very close to natural again,
In about 100 to 200 years.
Only very few places like this
still exist in Germany.
But currently
the forest industry
is becoming
increasingly radical
and more wood
is being harvested.
Sadly we are
turning back the clock.
[heavy machinery]
These plantations are
increasingly managed
with heavy machinery,
and these machines
compress the soil.
They destroy the pore volume
and life in
the soils suffocates.
This includes also the fungi
which are extremely important
for communication between trees.
Most machines have wide tires
so damage caused is not
so visible on the surface.
However compaction remains
and increases
with the size of the tires.
The soil becomes compacted
down to two meters.
This is comparable to a sponge
that has been squeezed.
But unlike a sponge,
soil doesn't recover.
Pore size is lost
along with Oxygen content.
Compared to before
in some cases,
only as little as five percent
of the water can be stored.
This is extremely
dangerous for trees
because here,
during summer,
trees depend on
winter precipitation.
And if this can't
be stored anymore,
the trees may
die of thirst during summer.
According to geologists,
soil damage below 20 cm
remains beyond repair
until the next Ice-age.
In horse logging,
harvested stems are first cut
to a maximum of 5 m.
A length that
a horse can handle.
The horse navigates gently
around big and small trees,
and barely causes any damage.
Even today, horse logging
could be done on a large scale.
However most horse loggers
don't find enough work.
Because there isn't
sufficient demand
One could argue that
if all harvesting
were done only with horses
it would exceed
the number of horses available.
That may be true
but when the demand grew,
more people would be motivated
to practice horse logging.
It is a wonderful job that has
already been practiced
For thousands of years.
I am certain that today
it could be just as successful.
Obviously we would
need more personnel
to replace
large machinery.
One harvester
replaces 12 workers.
If we could turn back time,
we could create 12 new jobs.
Interestingly enough,
this pays off.
We earn more
because we preserve the soil
and the forest
is more productive.
It grows more wood
and better quality.
While we generate more jobs.
More money,
more jobs.
I like that.
We didn't treat forests
like families at all.
We've treated them like
rows of corn plants, basically.
This new understanding
that we suddenly had,
that Mother Trees were linked
to all these seedlings
and other trees below ground
and favoring her kin,
completely turned
the idea of how
we manage forests
upside down.
Now, instead of rows of trees,
it's families of trees.
How you treat a family of trees
is going to be very different
than how you would treat
individual rows of trees.
As a forester, you like to think
that you are helping the forest.
But in fact,
its comparable to a small child
that fiddles with the clockwork,
thinking that it can make it
run smoother afterwards.
That means we need to
keep out of such an ecosystem
if we want it to function.
We can take something
every once in a while
but once we start
to destroy things
we will eventually reach
a point of no return.
We as humans make great demands.
We want to be
warm during the winter
so we heat our homes with wood.
We want furniture.
We want to use paper.
That's OK,
but obviously
this clashes with the idea
of an intact forest.
We should be aware
that when we use a chainsaw
we can't be doing any good.
We pretty much slaughter a tree.
[chainsaw buzzing]
[giant crash]
As long as there is
a certain limit to it,
the forest will be able to cope.
But if we take too much
it will be destroyed.
What every one of us can do
to take better care of forests,
is simply to reduce consumption.
With over seven billion people,
we can't be
going on at this level.
Is this a survival of
the fittest after all?
We use trees
to provide wood for our homes,
which we then build where
once these trees used to be.
Our cities grow
and displace the forests.
Have we unwillingly
turned to enemies,
who compete for the same ground?
Is there an alternative
to how we treat forests,
so that we are able to coexist
and preserve what is still left?
In the world of forestry,
foresters generally don't
pay any attention to it.
They either don't know about it
or they're so wrapped up
in the traditional ways
of practicing forestry.
They've become so rigid
in how they do things,
that the idea, that things can
be connected below ground
and therefore, to conserve
those connections
would mean doing forestry
in a very different way.
We need to change terminology.
We shouldn't claim that
we are tending to the forest
when we are in fact
utilizing wood.
Just as a butcher
is not an animal keeper,
a forester is no forest keeper.
Once we realize that
we always destroy something
when we use a chainsaw,
we might start to treat
the forest more carefully.
I think that there is an
enormous opportunity
to transform
how we practice forestry,
so that our forest
are more wise,
have their language intact,
have their families intact.
They're going to be
around in the future.
Whereas the planted forests
that we are putting back,
where we don't
conserve those features,
or those qualities
of a community,
those ones will be
way more at risk.
Just like if we become
isolated in our societies,
we are more at risk.
It's not any different
than forests.
The municipality of Hmmel,
where I'm a forest ranger.
Has placed all of the
remaining Beech tree forests
under protection.
That's very rare in Germany.
At over 200, these Beech trees
are comparatively old.
Here they can live
their social lives
entirely undisturbed.
Only in forests like this,
can one observe the intact
social life of trees.
It is possible
to manage forests so gently,
that they can emulate
pristine forest processes.
But that means removing only
single trees here and there.
Leaving the rest
of the social community alone.
Planting, tending,
producing great wood qualities.
Trees can manage this
all by themselves.
We can pretty much sit back.
When people hear about
connections below ground
and that there is mothering
going on in forests,
people immediate say:
"Of course,
I see this all the time.
I knew this all the time."
I am so glad
that you've done the science
that validates what I've
always felt about a forest.
To me, that's hugely powerful.
There's already
a sense out there.
We as humans
are part of that forest
and what we're perceiving
is really valuable.
We should be
paying attention to that,
because it's true.
It's true in our hearts
and it's true in the forest.
To me that's
a super important message
that this is a natural fit.
It's a natural fit in forests
and it's a natural fit with how
we interact with forests.
It's something we
can learn from forests
to bring to our own sense
of community and family as well.
Hopefully scientists
like Suzanne Simard
and observers
like Peter Wohlleben
are able to change the
way we look at trees.
Looking at nature has
often helped engineers
to find inspiration for
groundbreaking inventions.
Looking at the forest might
inspire us to live
in a healthy human community
that appreciates the natural
processes surrounding us.
Next time we take
a walk in the forest
and ask ourselves
if trees can talk,
the answer lies
below the surface.
Trees do talk.
What they want to tell us
remains yet to be uncovered.
Maybe all they say is,
"Let us be."
Can you imagine, being a tree
living by yourself?
Without neighbors?
Without others around
to care for you?
Trees don't do well when
they're by themselves.
They blow over,
or they get too much sun
or too much water
or they're more at risk
of getting a disease.
But when they are in a community
and they have neighbors around
that protect them,
they are caring for each other.
They're making sure they
are a productive,
healthy, vibrant,
diverse community of trees.
Families of trees.
[]