Trees make fascinating subjects for science. So much that happens behind their placid fronts when they interact with each other, animals and microbes. Illustrated by Ipsa Jain.
Have you seen a forest? The trees look still, standing in one place all their lives. To most of us, a grown tree looks the same forever. But, a lot goes on behind these placid scenes. Like any of us, from the time a tree is born, out of the seed that lands into a place and the seedling emerges out, trees have to work hard to make a good life. They have to get resources, fight off diseases and compete against each other, or build friendships with other organisms (such as fungi called mycorrhiza) to make the best of the opportunities that arise. Only thing is, they do all this when standing in the same place all their lives!
The lives of trees make for fascinating science. For a few decades now, scientists all over the world have been making deep forays into understanding how trees function, both individually and in relation to other trees around them. We have gained many cool insights into the workings of collections of tree species that form ecological communities in different parts of the globe. Over the next few posts, I will try and give you an overview of this science. Read on for a journey into the lives of forest trees…
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