From Tree to Shining Tree
Here is a fascinating edition of the Podcast Radio Lab about the magic of forests and the extraordinary secret life of trees:
From Tree to Shining Tree
A forest can feel like a place of great stillness and quiet. But if you dig a little deeper, there’s a hidden world beneath your feet as busy and complicated as a city at rush hour.
In this story, a dog introduces us to a strange creature that burrows beneath forests, building an underground network where deals are made and lives are saved (and lost) in a complex web of friendships, rivalries, and business relations. It’s a network that scientists are only just beginning to untangle and map, and it’s not only turning our understanding of forests upside down, it’s leading some researchers to rethink what it means to be intelligent.
To listen click here.
2 Responses to “From Tree to Shining Tree”
Fascinating article. I love trees & have a great respect for them. About a 5 minute walk from where I live there is a lovely wood, & right in the middle is a marvellous huge old beech tree. It’s branches stretch out so far & some almost touch the ground. I go there most days & just walk round it, touching the gnarled trunk & getting a great feeling of peace & strength from this mighty tree.
Paul Stamets’ “Mycelium Running” is a great read which supports this incredibly complex system of sharing, not competing, between trees. Sometimes I think we are in the throes of a midlife crisis of species proportion. Thank God some people have stopped throwing their toys out of the cot and are starting to listen to the Garden around us.
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