The trees are talking deep underground. Although ancient religions have dealt with this quite commonly, it is still a relatively new area of ​​interest for modern science.

Scientists today confirm that forests function as one big superorganism. Under the ground, trees are connected by mushroom highways. The oldest trees feed on their young offspring through these highways. In addition, trees communicate and cooperate with other species. Thus, contrary to the selfish idea of ​​competitiveness, they can help each other.

Trees communicate through the "Tree Network"

Yes, the trees talk to each other, but how? Millions of years of evolution, which began 600 million years ago, fungi and plants have formed symbiotic relationships called mycorrhiza. This word comes characteristically from the Greek terms for mushrooms and roots. Here's how it works: In exchange for the trees supplied with sugars and carbon, mushrooms provide what the trees need: minerals, nutrients and a communication network.

Like the internet connection, the mycorrhizal network spreads throughout the forest. Fungal fibers, called hyphae, form a highway and connect with tree roots. Trees can then send and receive items such as nitrogen, sugars, carbon, phosphorus, water, defense signals, chemicals or hormones.

One tree can connect to hundreds of other trees and send them different signals, which is really amazing. Through fibers, bacteria and microbes, nutrients are exchanged between the fungus and the roots of the trees.

Global tree network map

In 2019, scientists began mapping this "forest site" worldwide. Since then, this international study has created the first global map of a network of mycorrhizal fungi. It is worth mentioning that it could be the most important and oldest social network on Earth.

See how trees are secretly talking through It's Okay To Be Smart:

"Trees - mothers" protect forests

Ecologist Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia has been studying how trees communicate for three decades. After extensive experiments, she discovered how the network, which she calls "another world", connects all forest life.

"Yes, trees are the basis of forests, but the forest is much more than just what you see," says Simard. "There is another world underground, a world of endless biological pathways that connect trees and allow them to communicate, and allow the entire forest to behave as if it were one complete organism. It can remind you of some kind of intelligence. ”

With the help of a network, central trees, called mother trees, can nourish young growing trees. When older trees die, they can bequeath their nutrients, genes, and even some wisdom to others. Through this connection, trees gain valuable resources and information from their surroundings.

Collective resistance

As a result, interconnected trees gain a distinct advantage and resilience. However, if you cut off a tree from the net, it becomes vulnerable and often succumbs to disease much more quickly. Unfortunately, practices such as felling trees or replacing mixed forests with monocultures decimate this complex ecosystem. Sadly, trees that cannot join a community network are vulnerable to disease and insects. As a result, the system becomes unsustainable.

In the TED presentation, Simard notes: "Trees talk. Through mutual conversations, they increase the resilience of their entire community. It probably reminds you of our own social communities and our families, at least some of them. "

See how Simard discusses his research through TED:

Ancient religions and trees

Today, scientists can confirm that trees do communicate "socially". However, this is not a completely new idea. For example, the Tsimshian, the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, have long known that life in forests is interconnected. Originally from the Tsimshian people, Sm'hayetsk is Teresa Ryan, a graduate student of Suzanne Simard. In a recent article for the New York Times, Ryan explained how Simard's studies of mycorrhizal networks resemble indigenous traditions. However, settlers coming from Europe quickly rejected these ideas.

"Everything is connected, absolutely everything," Ryan said. "There are many indigenous groups that tell you stories about how all species in the forest are connected, and many of them also talk about underground networks."

The forest of the Menominee Indians

Teresa Ryan explained how the Native American Menominee tribe sustainably manages the 230 acre Menominee Forest in Wisconsin. They focus on ecology rather than financial gain and are richly rewarded for it.

"As the Menominee people believe, ecological sustainability means 'thinking in terms of entire systems with all their interconnections, consequences and feedback.' . They let the trees age for 200 years or more - so they become what Simard might call "trees - grandmothers." 

By allowing the forest to age, it remains profitable, healthy and densely forested.

"Since 1854, more than 5 m427 of wood have been harvested, which is almost double the current volume of the entire forest. Nevertheless, there are now more trees in it than at the beginning of logging. "To many, our forest may seem original and untouched," the Menominee tribe wrote in a report. "In reality, however, it is one of the most intensively managed forest areas in the Great Lakes region."

What if all forests were managed with respect for the wisdom of indigenous tribes? Can you imagine their potential if they were managed with an emphasis on sustainability instead of short-term profits?

Ancient empire

The more we learn about the intricate network in the forests, it is clear that we desperately need to change the way we treat them.

"Deforestation is not just about destroying individual beautiful trees - it is the collapse of an age-old empire whose interspecies commitment to mutual retribution and compromise is essential to the survival of the Earth as we know it," writes Ferris Jabr.

Naturalist Sir David Attenborough and thousands of other scientists believe that immediate action is needed to combat the climate crisis. Forests are an essential element of regeneration. The most important priority for saving the world's nature is therefore the restoration and wise management of forests.

"We considered the trees a kind of certainty and we looted almost half of the forests on our planet," Attenborough said. "Fortunately, forests have an extraordinary capacity to regenerate," he explained.

After centuries of decimating trees, the preservation of forests is essential. Attenborough is calling for better agricultural technology and the planting of new forests as part of a major global regeneration. In return, people would have more natural forests than ever before, a stabilized climate and sufficient resources.

Tree of Life

Ancient beliefs from all over the world consider trees as symbols of connection and respect: the Tree of Life.

“Trees have always been symbols of connection. In Mesoamerican mythology, a huge tree grows in the center of the universe, reaching into the underworld with its roots and holding the Earth and the sky on its trunk and branches. Nordic cosmology contains a similar tree, called Yggdrasil. The popular Japanese drama Noh tells of holy pines, connected by an eternal bond, even though they are separated by a considerable distance, "Ferris Jabr wrote for the Times.

In ancient Mesoamerica (now Central America), the ceiba tree was the Tree of Life from which the world came into being. Its roots reached deep into the underworld, while its branches supported the heavens. The Bible describes the Tree of Life, whose home was the Garden of Eden. Egyptian myths, in turn, refer to the Ished tree, where the gods were born. In ancient Assyria, artists often depicted a tree in various reliefs, which some say looks like a double helix of DNA. The mystical tree travels across world religions and appears in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.

Trees have been important to all cultures around the world since the beginning of time. It has never been more important to protect the trees and our interconnected natural world as it is today.

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