OPINION: Trees More Social Than You Ever Imagined
Daily Record (February 13, 2107)

What do you see when you look at a tree?

Perhaps you notice its age and wonder what events occurred in its lifetime. Maybe you think about the nesting birds it harbors or what value it would bring as lumber. You might admire the elegance of its branches and feel inspired by its beauty.

But did you ever think of a tree as a social being with the capacity to communicate with — and help —other trees?

Peter Wohlleben, author of the new book The Hidden Life of Trees, makes the case that trees are “unique individuals” that feel pain, learn from experience, make decisions, exchange information and nurse sick and injured brethren trees.

A German forester, Wohlleben studied research by scientists from around the world and concluded that humans are wrong in assuming trees lack intelligence because they don’t have brains.

Trees, he points out, live their lives “in the slow lane” … on a completely different time scale from humans. One of the world’s oldest trees is a spruce in Sweden believed to be more than 9,500 years old, or 115 times longer than the average human lifetime. Even relatively young trees 100 years old are older than most people.

In his book, Wohlleben uses human-friendly descriptions to explain the science of tree lives. He describes tree friendships, the “language” that trees use to communicate, and
how being part of a community — a forest — helps trees live longer.

Read the full story here.