All articles tagged with #trees
A global estimate puts Earth’s trees at about 3 trillion (from the 2015 Crowther study), which is more than the Milky Way’s 100–400 billion stars, though both figures are uncertain estimates; the tree count has fallen roughly 46% since civilization began, with about 15 billion trees lost each year.
German researchers found oak trees delay leaf-out by about three days after heavy caterpillar outbreaks, tracked with Sentinel-1 radar data over five years across 60 forests (137,500 observations). The delay reduces caterpillar survival and tree damage by about 55%, is more energy-efficient than producing extra tannins, and is reversible—showing trees actively adapt to biotic threats in a warming world.
Dame Judi Dench’s six‑acre Surrey garden is a living memorial built around about 100 trees, each representing a lost loved one. She highlights eight meaningful features—like a Queen Victoria statue, a white garden, a wildlife pond, a swimming pool, memorial woodland, and the scent of wild garlic—navigating the space through memory and scent while revealing a worm phobia that keeps her out of the dirt.
Scientists captured the first field evidence of coronae—ultraviolet glows at leaf tips—generated by charge buildup as storms pass over trees. In lab simulations and storm-intercept observations along the US East Coast, researchers logged 41 bursts lasting 0.1–3 seconds, emitting about 100 billion photons per frame at ~260 nm, across species including sweetgum, loblolly pine, maple, and spruce, suggesting a real, widespread electrical glow with potential implications for forest chemistry and how thunderstorms electrify in a warming climate.
A Penn State–led team captured the first in-the-wild coronae—brief ultraviolet glows at leaf tips—during thunderstorms, logging 41 events on multiple tree species across the East Coast in about 90 minutes. Each glow lasts roughly three seconds and can hop between leaves. While coronae had been seen in laboratory tests, this study confirms they occur in nature and may light tens to hundreds of treetop leaves during a single storm, though the displays are invisible to the naked eye.
Trees detect being browsed or chewed by insects, piercing-and-sucking bugs, and even pathogens or nearby stressed trees, using cues from mouthparts, vibrations, saliva, microbes, and emitted signals. In response they boost chemical defenses such as tannins and phenolics, grow tougher leaves, and release volatile compounds to recruit predators of their attackers; some species even share pest information with neighbors to bolster collective defenses, though drought and climate stress can blunt these responses (e.g., Aleppo pines). The piece also engages with questions about tree “feelings” and references Peter Wohlleben’s ideas about the hidden life of trees.
A photo gallery spotlights the world’s most monumental trees, from the ancient, 5,000-year-old giants and the largest-volume General Sherman to towering redwoods, iconic baobabs, banyans, and other colossal specimens across continents, celebrating extreme size, age, and remarkable adaptations.
A Georgia homeowner alleges a neighbor cleared more than 100 trees along their property line to make way for a retention-pond project without a written agreement, triggering HOA involvement, a land survey, and calls for police and legal action amid online backlash.
The article discusses the diverse and distinct microbiomes inside living trees, highlighting the complex interactions between microbial communities such as bacteria and fungi within different tree tissues and their roles in tree health, decay, and ecosystem functions.
Recent studies suggest that trees may use the summer solstice as a key marker for timing their growth, leaf senescence, and reproduction cycles, particularly in temperate regions, to optimize survival and reproduction, with evidence pointing to synchronized seed production across Europe linked to temperature changes around the solstice.
New research suggests that under a warming climate, trees may release less CO₂ than previously predicted due to their ability to adapt to temperature changes over long periods, which could impact future climate models and predictions.
Researchers have discovered that changes in leaf color, specifically increased greenness due to higher carbon dioxide levels from magma, can serve as an early warning signal for volcanic eruptions, potentially enhancing prediction methods through satellite monitoring.
A study in the Dolomites found that trees synchronize their bioelectrical signals during a solar eclipse, with older trees leading the response, highlighting their role in forest resilience and communication through the 'wood wide web.'
A study published in PNAS reveals that climate change is causing tree populations to move away from the soil fungi that sustain them, particularly in northern latitudes. This migration lag is due to the trees relocating to soils lacking the necessary mycorrhizal fungi, which are crucial for their nutrient uptake and survival. The research highlights the importance of understanding and protecting these symbiotic relationships to mitigate the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems.
A new study has found that trees, specifically the konara oak tree, may be acting as a sink for airborne microplastics by accumulating them on the waxy surface coating of their leaves. Microplastics, tiny plastic particles found nearly everywhere on Earth, have uncertain effects on human and environmental health due to the variable and indeterminate combination of chemicals present in them. The discovery highlights the importance of preserving forests as they provide yet another crucial service by filtering out microplastics from the air.