The Audio Long Read Mother trees and socialist forests: is the ‘wood-wide web’ a fantasy?
Jun 3, 2024
The podcast discusses the concept of trees communicating and nurturing each other, touching on the 'wood-wide web' and mother trees. It explores the intelligence of plants, their interconnectedness in forests, and the resilience of trees in the face of climate change.
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Trees: From Objects to Subjects
- The "Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben sparked new discourse, presenting trees as intelligent beings.
- This discourse suggests trees communicate and cooperate through fungal networks, challenging the previous view of them as inert competitors.
The Wood Wide Web
- Susan Simard's 1997 study in Nature showed resource transfer between trees via fungi, termed the "wood wide web."
- This challenged the prevailing view of trees as competitors and was initially met with resistance from fellow foresters.
Scientific Scrutiny
- Simard's work gained popularity, influencing books, films, and even children's stories.
- However, scientific articles challenged the wood wide web's claims, arguing they outpaced evidence.