In a burgeoning green age, scientists stand on the brink of unravelling trees’ elusive communication methods. Esteemed researchers assert that trees possess a distinct language, sharing vital information about their existence, even beyond human hearing. As curiosity mounts, questions arise: do grass and garden plants converse too? Despite parallels with animal communication, understanding this arboreal dialogue remains a monumental feat, akin to cracking wartime codes. Yet, with determination, humanity may bridge the gap, unlocking invaluable insights into pressing global issues like climate change. Amidst whimsical visions of inter-species discourse lies a poignant reminder: while charming, the journey to comprehend nature’s language is firmly rooted in scientific inquiry, enriching our collective understanding of the world we share. The article was first published on FirstRand Perspectives.
Now that we know trees talk to each other and that we can talk to them, what on earth should we talk about?
By Peter Dearlove
Scientists are on the brink of unlocking the secret ways trees keep in touch with each other. In this reality check, we take a quirky look at the idea and consider a useful agenda.
It is official, or almost any way: trees talk to each other. That is to say, highly respected scientists are telling us that research has proven trees have a unique but recognisable way of communicating specific facts of tree life to one another, even when out of earshot. What the trees are saying precisely remains to be learned. However, there are serious suggestions now that further scientific research will unlock their language, and those able to learn it can look forward to some fascinating conversations.
In this blossoming green age, when there is so much concentration on nature and our need to respect it, the tree talk topic comes as no great surprise, but it does raise the question: does grass talk, too? And what about garden plants? And the weeds? These and others like them are likely among the first of many exciting posers we can put to the forest when we have cracked that first ground-breaking code.
There are many tough problems to solve before this code is indeed crackable, and then a few more before we can sit down in the orchard and chat. For a start, if not sound waves, what is the medium of tree communication? A lady named Suzanne Simard, who has spent 30 years studying trees in British Columbia, says they communicate through an underground fungal network. Through their smallest roots and fungal contact, they learn about the forest and individual trees. Simard says this is a complex symbiotic network that can move resources from an area of plenty to where they are absent or scarce and needed most.
Scientists believe trees can communicate via pheromones, other scents, and slow-pulsing electricity. Simard herself believes they pass on information in many ways, including through their seeds, which she notes are information packets.
Perhaps more noteworthy is her idea that in the forest, there is a hierarchy among the trees filled with interesting characters, just like our complex communities, from a wise old mother tree to a bunch of feckless saplings. The ‘mother’ helps manage the flow of information and directs the fight for general survival.
It is a lovely picture of hustle and bustle, bringing to life all the fairy stories you ever heard. Yet there are difficulties standing between us and easy conversation with trees.
Despite the efforts of many smart linguists, we have yet to understand the language of any of the many animals capable of making sounds – from dolphins and whales to our near relatives, gorillas and chimpanzees. We know they communicate, and in many cases, we can distinguish some of the different sounds they use. Their voices, and presumably their conversations, have often been recorded, but even with that advantage, the ultimate goal of sensible conversation eludes us. And it is not because we are thick. It is because it is such a gigantic undertaking. And it may be different dimensions that we can’t yet grasp.
Think back to the Second World War and both sides’ difficulties in unlocking each other’s coded messages. The British did solve the problem at their code-breaking headquarters at Bletchley Park, but they had the good fortune of ‘acquiring’ one of the German machines that produced the code. Even so, they required many of the finest brains in the Commonwealth to help them do it. Another illuminating incident highlighting the difficulty of learning languages from scratch is recollected in the story of American encoders using the obscure Navajo language to send and receive information – to the absolute bafflement of the German opposition.
When, if ever, we can converse freely with plants, there are other obstacles to the gleaning of important information from them that will come into play – the assumption that plants know more than we do, that they will want to talk to us, and which of them is the right one to talk to. As for an agenda, standing where we are today, the list of topics for quick resolution would probably be headed with questions about climate change. You can be sure that all plants will back our version of science on three things: climate change, human population growth, and the race to Mars. What they probably won’t be able to talk much about are our difficulties with religion and sex. OK, folks, it is too early to be looking that closely at the subject. Let’s keep our roots firmly planted in the soil, shall we?
Cute as it may seem to imagine romantic moments with the birds and the bees, the grass and the trees, this is still all very much the stuff of science fiction. If it has value, it helps keep up the current focus on the health of our planet and the fact that we do not own it alone. It is part of the green movement; as such, it is charming, friendly, and nice in every way. It just fits the current narrative. And as the narrative develops, one side of the discussion – the good people of earth, who already know how to communicate with each other – may begin to do so.
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