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Dendrology: The community of trees

Article in Nature · September 2016

DOI: 10.1038/537306a

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generations of trees idealizes an ecological

PAUL COLANGELO/NATL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

progression too often interrupted by human
felling and woodland management. It seems
that trees are both more cooperative within a
species and more complicated within a life-
time than prejudice might allow.
Wohlleben’s vision of life among the trees
has been developed during his decades-long
stewardship of a chunk of forest dominated
by beech in the Eifel, a mountain range strad-
dling Germany and Belgium. He clearly
desires woodlands to return to a state in which
the slow life cycles of the trees are allowed to
run without interference — a regrowth of the
European ‘wildwood’ that grew up as the cli-
mate recovered after the retreat of the last Ice
Age. He presents this as a golden age of arbo-
real life. Trees age at their own pace and die, to
be replaced by ‘family’ that has been shelter-
ing in their shadows for many years, nurtured
on the mycelial teat. It’s a kind of utopia for
Ents. Not one such undisturbed ancient for-
est survives in Europe, except possibly in the
Białowieża Forest of Poland. In Britain, woods
have been managed since the Iron Age.
Whatever the virtues of this scenario,
I have problems with Wohlleben’s narra-
tive approach. He describes trees as if they
possessed consciousness. During times of
Trees communicate with each other using chemical signals carried on the breeze. drought they make “cries of thirst” or “might
be screaming out a dire warning to their col-
DE NDR O LO GY leagues”. They experience “rising panic”. A

The community of trees

seedling’s growth is portrayed as fratricide
as it sees off its siblings. It is rather extraordi-
nary to read a book centred on co-evolution
without a mention of natural selection. After
a while, the urge to attribute motivation to
Richard Fortey ponders a study that casts forests as the behaviour of trees becomes irksome. It
exquisitely complex, multistorey networks. is not so far away from hugging trees to con-
nect to a supposed deeper reality.
Wohlleben sets out his stall quite specifi-

T
he Ents — the tree beings in signals carried on the cally: “The distinction between plant and
J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings breeze from infested animal is, after all, arbitrary.” Well, no, it’s
— conducted leisurely conversations trees cause forest not. It has been a fact of phylogenetic sepa-
that ignored mere human timescales. Years fellows to crank up ration for more than 1.7 billion years, during
might pass to allow their deeper rumina- their own chemical which exceedingly long time the two king-
tions. Tolkien understood that arboreal time armouries. It’s not a doms have followed their own paths. Yes,
plays out over centuries. The Ents also had case of every tree for problems in common require comparable
moral values and took sides, and were capa- itself: the forest can solutions: communication and nutrition are
ble of exercising will, forging alliances and behave as a single universals, as scholars such as the plant bio-
showing affection. After reading The Hidden The Hidden Life of entity when it yields chemist Anthony Trewavas have shown. It is
Life of Trees, I suspect that German forester Trees: What They a great crop of acorns of selective advantage to trees to share news
Peter Wohlleben regards beeches, his favour- Feel, How They or beechnuts, or lies of insect threats, just as antelope respond
ite trees, as not unlike Ents. Communicate — fallow for a year. Trees together to the twitch of a lion’s tail.
Much new science has been woven into Discoveries from a s h are a c om m on Trees are splendid and interesting enough
Secret World
this engaging natural history. Trees are PETER WOHLLEBEN
response to weather in their own right without being saddled with
networkers. Far from the solitary splen- Greystone: 2016 and nourishment. a panoply of emotions. The anthropomor-
dour of the ancient old stager, it turns out The hidden net- phism in this otherwise compelling book is
that trees communicate with one another work allows for the nurturing of small trees more spice than it needs. Trees ain’t Ents. ■
through their roots. Underground fungi — in the understorey, where too little light
mycorrhizae associated with the root net- penetrates for effective photosynthesis. The Richard Fortey is a research associate at
work — form a sort of subterranean internet ‘children’ of a ‘parent’ tree bide their time the Natural History Museum, London. His
that connects trees, passing messages and until the oldster topples and the understorey latest book is The Wood for the Trees, an
even nourishment between neighbours. Nor underdogs at last get the chance to reach for essay on the history and natural history of a
do trees passively tolerate the onslaught of the skies. Wohlleben’s capable description small English beechwood.
insects on their tasty young leaves. Chemical of the leisurely drama of the forest through e-mail: [email protected]

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