Forests cover about 30% of our planet, and provide our planet with so many important things: our air that we breathe, a place to rest, and a home to our flora and fauna. There is so much diversity in forests, and we often forget how interesting the complexity of trees can be. Trees, although quiet and solitary, are buzzing with life and energy, and perform amazing feats for survival! The inability to move does not stop trees from getting crafty in order to survive and reproduce, and there is always so much to learn from them. From the massive redwoods and baobabs, to the slender but beautiful birch, there is much to love about trees, and the amazing things they do for us.
Without further ado, here are 5 AMAZING things about trees you probably didn’t know about:
1. Trees communicate with eachother.
A boreal forest in Lake Clarke. Note the pattern of evergreen greens, scattered among the deciduous trees. Retrieved from the U.S National Park Service website. https://www.nps.gov/lacl/learn/nature/forests.htm
In The Hidden Life of Trees, German forester Peter Wohlleben describes a new and controversial concept that is growing substantially in the scientific community: that trees are constantly communicating with eachother. He looks at the interactions between tree species, and how they individually fight for survival in a forest stand. By identifying these interactions, he has created the idea that trees simultaneously work together with their own species, as well as cooperating with trees of other species! He relates this interaction to that of an insect colony: by emitting chemical signals to other trees through their roots and underground fungal networks, trees can communicate danger, can facilitate growth and can protect eachother in times of drought and disease. Check out this article by the Smithsonian, which looks at this amazing interaction and Wohlleben’s novel!
2. Trees can clone themselves.
A trembling aspen stand in Zion National Park. Are they all separate aspens, or just clones of one adult? Retrieved from Flickr - photo by Zion National Park. https://www.flickr.com/photos/zionnps/5205494244
Trembling aspen, the iconic tree that resembles “jazz hands” as the wind blows through its leaves, is actually a professional of colonizing land! The trembling aspen forms ‘root suckers’: root extensions off of the main root system of the adult tree, which shoot up from the earth to grow into new aspen trees. This way, they can create large populations in a new environment quickly and efficiently, as a form of asexual reproduction. Each separate shoot will have an identical genome to the plant that it grew from. So, when you see a large trembling aspen, look out for neighbouring aspens, who may actually be clones, a product of the adult! Aspens are not the only trees that can do this, as beech, birch and dogwood can also propagate themselves in this way.
3. Growth rings are able to take us back to the past.
Looking at the cross-section of a bald cypress tree from Northern California allows us to see which years had plentiful nutrients and water for the tree, and which years may have had drought. Retrieved from Flickr. Photo by James St. John. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/38675652474
As kids, we all learned that to find out the age of a tree, we take a cross-section of its trunk, and count the rings. Then, I have no doubt, we all spend a considerable time trying to count the hundreds and hundreds of tiny rings on a stump, to no avail. Well, by looking at the growth rings of an old tree, we can not only tell how old the tree is, but also its history, and the history of the environment it lived in! By looking at the size of the growth rings, you can determine whether or not a tree had a ‘good year’ - one with plenty of rain, nutrients and sunlight or a ‘bad year’ - one likely with drought. A big ring indicates a good year (lots of growth), and a small ring indicates a bad year (little growth!). Not only that, but recent scientific research is looking at the chemical compounds within each ring to see what the environment was like during a particular year. For example, the Tipuana tree in Brazil is being used as a marker of atmospheric pollution, as its roots absorb heavy metals that are present in the atmosphere, transporting these compounds to the wood of its growth rings. By looking at growth rings of the past 50 years, you can rewrite the story of the surrounding pollution in those years!
4. Some trees are not that tall, and not trees at all.
A ground pine, hiding under the shade of a tall tree. Behind it, you see many other shoots of the same ground pine plant poking up from the undergrowth. Retrieved from Flickr. Photo by Dendroica cerulea. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dendroica/
Club mosses sure look like tiny trees, don’t they? Well, it’s because in an essence, they are. These plants have a similar function to vines; the plant creeps along the ground, shooting up small, tree-like leaves up towards the sky to reach sunlight. By doing this, the plant creates a mat, or mini-forest, along the forest floor. Even though they are not considered trees, early lycophytes (which were the descendants of clubmoss) formed the oldest group of forest-forming trees in the Carboniferous era. So, although club moss are not trees themselves, they evolved from early trees and have still kept similar function to forests, just on the forest floor!
5. Although trees may look small, they can be old, and strong.
Foxtail pine growing in Sequoia National Park. This photo was taken before the treeline (which is where trees can no longer grow due to extreme weather and altitude). Note how dispersed the trees are, and so small! Received from the U.S National Park Service website. https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/subalpine-forests.htm
In a subalpine ecosystem, life grows differently. Once you reach altitudes where snow, rain and cold is prevalent, life is not able to grow the same as if you were lower in altitude. Trees in these biomes are adapted to these extreme weather conditions, and have evolved some amazing survival techniques! Krummholz trees, also known as dwarf trees, are trees that live above the treeline, which is the highest point at which trees can grow. These trees are smaller than most trees, and misshapen, but are the same species as the ones growing lower than the treeline. This shows how far a tree will go to survive, and will even risk death in adverse conditions to grow! Since northern, subalpine forest communities are often never disturbed, we can still see old-growth forests today. However, these forests are threatened by climate change, as the trees thrive in cold conditions, and are susceptible to change.
5 AMAZING things about trees just barely touches on all the incredible adaptations and functions trees have. The most amazing things in nature may not be the most spectacular views or the weirdest animals. They can be the things we see in our day-to-day lives, like our forests!
If you are as passionate about trees as I am, please share some cool things that you may know about them!
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