A photo from open sources
Everyone knows that trees cleanse the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide, and thereby bring invaluable benefits to a person. Despite their stillness, they live very intense, eventful life. Scientists have found many interesting facts, concerning our good green friends. We will tell you about some of them. tell you.
Trees can communicate
According to the French botanist Francis Galle, more half a century devoted to the study of trees, these amazing creatures communicate by smell. To combine information, they combine various smells like the way we construct phrases from single words. Trees address their messages to each other, as well as insects and even herbivores.
When attacking them, the trees send an alarm, highlighting special aromatic enzymes, to which they react “brethren”. The leaves of the trees become unpleasant. toxic taste in order to scare away herbivores.
A photo from open sources
According to environmental professor Susanne Simard, trees can pass on essential nutrients to each other, which helps survive some of them. Thanks to networks created by symbiotic mushrooms, mature trees in the forest ecosystem feed young plants and give them carbon and water. Suzanne Simard was put forward the theory of the so-called “matriarchs” – the most powerful and large trees around which young growth is formed. If maternal the tree dies, the young chances of survival are strong are decreasing.
Trees can sleep
Like people, trees rest at night, proved united A team of Austrian, Finnish and Hungarian researchers. For this scientists have resorted to laser scanning with infrared light, which is reflected from the leaves.
A photo from open sources
It turned out that all the trees drop branches throughout the night, this changes the position of the leaves. The changes are not very large: so, trees with an average of 5 meters in height, lower the branches only 10 centimeters. However, this process is systematic. character.
Trees can heal themselves
Trees are not known to use the services of doctors, and therefore they are doctors themselves. There is a mechanism that allows tree isolate the damaged part. In case of local damage it blocks the vital as quickly as possible conductive systems and individual sites stop receiving wood juices and water. In summary, if harmful microorganisms and fall into the “wound”, they fail to spread throughout to the plant.
A photo from open sources
Trees use bodyguards
For obvious reasons, it is difficult for trees to fend for themselves, however, their nature awarded some remedies. There are trees who “hire” an entire army of insects into their bodyguards. TO for example, in the rainforests of Africa and South America grows type of acacia, providing optimal conditions for the life of ants: powerful spikes growing along the trunk serve as a perfect refuge for them, and the special nectar produced by the plant is nutritious a mixture. For their part, the ants jealously guard the plant, attacking other insects and even herbivores.
A photo from open sources
Trees feel and remember
US scientist Clive Baxter experimentally proved that plants respond to human actions and thoughts.
During the experiment, one of the plants was trampled in the presence of another to which the polygraph was previously attached. Then in the room where the “crime witness” was people come in. And when a man entered who destroyed the first bush, the device recorded in the second emotion of fear, while the plant did not respond to the rest.
A photo from open sources
Then the scientist decided to burn the leaves of his experimental, so that find out his reaction. But as soon as Baxter thought about it, the sensors worked and produced a result according to which the plant was in a panic.
The researcher published an article about his work in a popular science journal, however many of his colleagues found the theory unscientific.
Trees can even scream
French scientists managed to capture ultrasonic signals, coming from trees during a drought. According to these researchers, trees, when stressed, publish certain sounds that indicate a plant deficiency water. In tree trunks, moisture and other substances rise up special vessels of water-conducting tissue – xylem. To water rose to the top, the pressure in the vessels several times should exceed atmospheric. During drought when moisture to fill xylem is not enough, the process of cavitation – education begins bubbles, destructive to trees. Cavitation accompanies high-frequency signal, which the researchers recorded – trees cry for help.
A photo from open sources
Trees are immortal, but they can also kill themselves.
Scientists say trees can live forever they die from parasites, diseases, and most of all – from human activity. But it turns out that trees are also capable of for suicide.
Giant suicide palm trees grow in Madagascar. All my they spend life energy on flowering, which completes their cycle existence. Having fulfilled the duty of reproduction, palm trees die. It is curious that about such “suicidal tendencies” of the tree people learned relatively recently, and this is due primarily to a fairly long life of the plant – up to 100 years …
Water Life Time Insects Plants
