2023-10-16 11:00:00
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The forests are full of surprises. And no, there is no need to go into stories about monsters or fairies that inhabit them, Science shows us parts of these ecosystems that escape our understanding. If we stop for a while to observe, we will be able to see authentic wonders of nature and questions will begin to fill our minds.
Looking up we can notice the so-called “botanical shyness cracks”, or how the treetops do not touch each other. This effect allows us to delight in a green and apparently broken cover. If we look down, we can see a powerful trunk that has grown over the years from carbon dioxide in the air and minerals in the soil. And it is there, underground, where the trees, and the forest, hide some of their fantastic secrets.
A walk in the woods
When the botanist Sebastian Leuzinger was on a route with his friend and colleague Martin Bader through a forest in New Zealand, his gaze fell on a tree. From his knowledge he knew that it was a kauri (Agathis australis), a tree endemic to the region that can exceed 50 meters in height and live more than 2000 years. The majesty of this tree is shown in specimens such as the Mr. Mahutawhich in the Maori language means “lord of the forest”, and which has a very special place in the culture of the region.
Shaun Jeffers and Shutterstock
The Tāne Mahuta tree is the largest known kauri tree. It has a height of 51.2 meters.
But the moment of glory and maximum splendor of the tree they were seeing had long since passed. What Sebastian was really observing was a stump, that is, the rest of the trunk anchored to the ground that remains when a tree falls. The stump didn’t look anything out of the ordinary; a cylinder barely half a meter long that protruded from the ground and that it had probably served as a rest for the buttocks of many of the people who had gone for a pleasant walk in the forest. But Sebastian’s practiced eyes could see something else. That stump hid a secret that made it extraordinary: Life.
The mystery of the living stump
The kauri that Sebastian and Martin were observing It had probably fallen long ago. So much so that its leaves, branches and the rest of the trunk had completely disappeared. That stump couldn’t stay alive on its own., so researchers, overcome with curiosity, tried to find an explanation. After taking samples of the kauri, they set their sights on the surrounding trees. If that stump couldn’t live on its own, There was someone who was taking care of him, and the neighboring trees were all suspicious.
Sebastian Leuzinger
Sebastian Leuzinger poses in the photo next to the instrument that allows them to measure the flow of water from the kauri stump.
Using specialized instruments, They measured the flow of water on the stump and in the surrounding trees. These fluid movements are influenced by many factors, such as the presence of sunlight, temperature and precipitation, and they allow trees to have the nutrients necessary for their growth. After placing the device and monitoring the levels for a few weeks, the data collected showed a clear connection between the immobile inhabitants of the place. When sap moved faster in living trees, the speed of the water in the stump decreased. and, conversely, the slower it moved in the trees, the faster it flowed on the stump. This is how the stump managed to stay alive.
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the forest floor hides part of its secrets from us. After analyzing the roots, they observed that they were connected to each other, a fact that was already known in other trees of different species. This explained why the stump was still alive. But answering the question generated other equally interesting ones. Why would the forest want to keep a stump alive? What benefits does it bring you? Again, the answer is hidden underground.
A great organism
The phenomenon that Sebastian and Martin observed is not unique in the world. Live stumps of different species are known, and some extraordinarily long-lived, such as the stump of a beechFagus sylvatica) which is believed to have been cut 500 years ago. This allows us to assume two scenarios: either the trees do not know how to detect that one of their limbs has fallen and how to disconnect from it or that, indeed, there is some advantage in keeping the stumps alive.
Supporting this second hypothesis we find the fascinating world of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are fungi found in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees. This relationship offers a mutual benefit, since the roots provide sugars and other nutrients, and the fungi transform minerals and decomposing material in the soil into useful compounds for the trees. The larger and more diverse the mycorrhizal network that nourishes the roots of trees, the more resilient the ecosystem becomes to changes. and, therefore, it can better resist inclement weather and other disasters.
The roots of live stumps are also part of this network of trees and fungi, as they are connected. This is why one of the hypotheses is that its mere presence helps extend the root network, allowing more mycorrhizae to join the trees, which translates into a benefit for the forest as a whole. Because of this, it may be beneficial to the forest to keep its fallen members alive.
In this study, the phrase that you can’t see the forest for the trees is very present. By treating trees individually, only part of a superorganism can be studied. where all its members are connected. These connections involve different organisms, which together form an ecosystem with an infinite number of members. So when we take the next walk in the woods we might think that We are entering a world that is alive and of which we do not understand all its complexity. Once inside, let’s remember to look up, to the sides and to the ground, because, paying enough attention, We will be able to delve into the secrets that these trees hide from us in plain sight.
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