“A forest is much more than what you see,” Suzanne Simard opens her June 2016 TED talk. Simard is an ecologist and a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia.
“Imagine you’re walking through a forest. I’m guessing you’re thinking of a collection of trees, what we foresters call a stand, with their rugged stems and their beautiful crowns. Yes, trees are the foundation of forests, (…), and today I want to change the way you think about forests.”
And Suzanne Simard has achieved that for sure! After having watched the TED talk, I see the natural world with new eyes.
The rise and the dominance of Homo sapiens among other species on planet Earth is often attributed to our ability to communicate and cooperate in masses.
It is unlikely that you would doubt the notion that other non-human animals communicate too, with us and with each other. Just think of the howling of wolves, singing of birds, or even whale sounds! But what about Plantae Kingdom? Do plants and trees talk too? Let’s explore with this TED talk.
