Spring is glorious in Elthamwith wattle trees in full bloom , and the fresh new leaves of deciduous trees just starting to develop.
However the subject of this book is not about Eltham’s indigenous trees and woodlands but what is written about German forest of oaks and beeches.
The hidden life of trees , What they feel, How they communicate
Discoveries from a Secret world Peter Wohlleben
Late last year I read a book review of this book. The book had been published the year before, had already been translated into 17 languages and was topping book selling lists in many countries. I was intrigued by what I read and resolved to buy this book.
I was not disappointed. I admit that I not spent a great deal of time thinking about if trees could communicate with each other, or what they felt. Certainly Peter Wohlleben is able to give us a “discovery from a secret world” in everyone of the short 36 chapters of this easy to read book.
My talk is to about some of the ways The Hidden Life of trees shows how trees in the forests can survive for hundreds if not thousands of years but only if the forest is undisturbed by foresters and the microclimate of the forest remains the same over time.Wohlleben refers here to a spruce tree in South West Sweden. The DNA is of the tree is 9700yers old. 9700 years old. Actually the tree is a clonal tree, ie the inner trunk has died and this tree has grown from the roots.
Here are two examples of the hidden life of trees:
A)A Number of scientists in the savanna grasslands of Africa noticed something peculiar when giraffes started eating the branches of an acacia thorn tree. The giraffes suddenly turned away from their free meal and meandered over to other trees. Not the ones that were closest to the one they had started their meal, but to a group that was about 100 metres away. Why? The trees did not like the nibbling of their leaves (or as Peter Wohlleben writes, they felt uncomfortable) and started producing toxins in the leaf which the giraffes did not like) and simultaneously gave off both a warning gas to its neighbours for them to produce the same toxins to save their leaves. We cannot say that the trees were talking to each other but they were certainly communicating. Their social network was functioning well.
B)Wohlleben refers to one time he found a Douglas Fir tree that had been struck by lightning. However not only was that tree burnt but also another 10 Douglas firs within 15 metres. No they did not die in sympathy for the tree that was struck: they died because their roots were intertwined and used to passing water and nutrients to each other, but in this case each tree unfortunately received a deadly serving of electricity.
Wohlleben started as a forester 20 to 30 years ago in the beech and oak forests of the Eifel Mountains of South Western Germany. For many years his job being to harvest the trees or cut down trees for the forest industry. has written this book to “record what the trees taught me” The chapters in his book give some kind of indication of the amount of social interaction and sense of community he has discovered among the trees he has cared for :Friendship, The language of Trees , Social Security, Tree School, Forest etiquette, Street kids,Immigrants. Not exactly the type of chapters you would expect in a book about forests. But exactly the sort of chapters that will highlight the needs of the trees of the forest.
I have brought my little Christmas tree which is now about 8 years old. This youngster (the author’s terminology) has benefitted from the last 8 months, placed outside and beside a northern fence so he get little or no direct light.As a baby he suffered from not being looked after by his mother: his roots were probably trimmed several times before we bought him, he was left too long in a dry and hot patch and some of his branches have died. Although most of his needles are green he has not followed correct forest etiquette and grown u slowly and nice and straight. (If he had been in a forest Wohlleben would have judged him as being about 40 years old) But he has appreciated the constant watering from a watering can, which would be similar to the floor of the forest. Notice how thick the shoots at the top are; they form an umbrella so snow will slide off and that is good if there is a lot of snow where the trees grow: but this is hazardous as rain water runs off too, to areas beyond his roots.Wohlleben points out that this is often the problem when conifers are planted so the timber can be harvested. Often the areas are just too hot and dry for them.
Wohlleben in the course of his time as a forester, became a conservationist, started listening to the trees, watching changes making conclusions and appreciating the trees in the forests he tended.
1)He discovered that trees grew remarkably slowly in the dim light of undisturbed forests. Not only did the trees grow slowly but they lived to a great age: perhaps 300 to 400 years or more. The growth rings were narrow and hard and without gaps for air. In contrast when he looked at plantations of conifer trees he found that these trees grew very quicklyeg ½ metre per year in areas where they had much light, and were inevitably cut down about 100 years of growing, when the trees were still in adolescence. If they had not already split in high winds or massive snowfalls His explanation of the slow growth in the forest is delightful. “Unfortunately their mothers do not approve of rapid growth” And there is no possibility of the young tree rebelling, because the mother tree controls the amount of light coming into the forest. It is only when the mother tree snaps and the amount of light increases on the forest floor that the kindergarten of saplings can grow . The slow growing tree is flexible and resistant to fungi attacking the trunk and its peak growing stage is after the age of 120 And because the tree is following “forestetiquette” it is growing straight and growing in the moist dim light of the forest.
2) He believes trees have different types of language, or communication to alert other trees of danger. Trees have been found to have a secret language of scents compounds as other researchers have found.
3) He discovered that when trees looked after each other the community remained intact He says electrical signals are sent via the network of roots in the forest , travelling from the nerve cells at the tips of the roots One type of signal tells of danger and lets other trees be prepared eg insect attack. ( A West Australian ecologist has shown in experiment with grasses in a laboratory that roots were crackling at frequency of 220 hertz AND the roots of other grasses not actually involved physically turned towards the sound.) Other scientists have referred to this wood wide world of signals both from roots and from the myriad networks of fungi filaments.
4) He discovered trees will help sick individualswho need to be supported and nourished by other trees.One example is of the way water and nutrients are shared. He uses the example of his early days as a forester to girdle some beech trees. Because the bark was removed, sugar made in the leaves from photosynthesis could not travel to the roots and also the roots could not pump water to the trunk and the branches and leaves. BUT instead of drying out and dying, most of the trees flourished. Nearby trees through the underground network of roots provided nourishment to the roots of the damaged trees.
In a chapter titled “Social Security” he refers to the work of students at a nearby university who discovered a patch of undisturbed beech trees In this area soil types varied from amount of stones and pebbles, water retention, amount of light and the amount of nutrients. But each tree had the same rate of photosynthesis. What was happening was that sugar being produced in the leaves was being transferred to the roots of the tree and that those trees with an abundance of sugar were handing it over to those who could not produce enough. Definately a health system to aid the sick and needy.
Street kids. Is the term used to describe those forest trees that have been planted along streets. The trees are pampered with water and nutrients when very young and their roots constantly trimmed When the roots try and spread out ,obstacles like pipes, pedestrian walkways and cellars all provide hazards No wonder roots try and grow into the looser soils around drainage pipes Soil textures are different from those in the forests: constant trampling by humans and movement of vehicles causes the soil to become compacted. Vehicles give off exhaust fumes, fungi is not present. Unwanted fertilizers from dogs being taken on walks provide another hazard.Buildings and road surfaces keep the temperatures higher At night heat is radiated off buildings and keeps the temperature much higher than in the forest. Crowns and branches are cut off if overhead electricity wires are close by Open areas encourage the trees to forget their forest etiquette and grow fast and form thick branches close to the ground.
In conclusion, W believes moreand more people are wanting a change in forest management and his dream is that there will be more areas where trees can grow independently and be with each other. And that if trees need to be harvested by the timber industry it would be the 200 year old plus that would be harvested. Well he was referring to Europe , wasn’t he?
What implications from the writing? Keeping in mind tht he wasn’t writing about the Australian forest and woodlands.
I Find myself looking at the trees in gardens and parks and wondering if they are healthy and happy.
I worry about the trees in nature strips when I see their unnatural pruning.
I am astounded by the idea that trees communicate with each other
I realize trees have a resilience that will enable them to survive.
I am in awe of the idea that the trees form a community where the individuals look after each other and I am reminded of the value that we place on friendship and companionship.
I realize that “a forest for the timber industry” is very different from a conservation forest.
Peter Wolleben says he has always loved trees. He has more reason to as his work is inspiring many others to appreciate trees and forests. And to understand some of the intricacies of their hidden lives
In the words of Psalm 96: Then shall all the trees and the wood shout with joy before the Lord.