How many languages do you know? Well, if you always wanted to learn a foreign language, you could forget about human languages and master the language of trees.

Trees Are Amazing

They are harmless; they give us oxygen, shade, and a cool place to venture into when we need to take a refreshing walk.

And as uncomplicated as trees might seem, they have a lot going on. Beneath the surface (and I mean this in a literal sense), the trees are talking to each other using an intricate social network.

So advanced is this system that forests function as a single organism.

And more than that, trees depend on these communication networks for survival. This network is made from a massive web or roots that are used to send messages between trees.

Based On These Communications, The Trees Share Nutrients And Water With Those That Need It

I have to admit; we have plenty to learn from trees.

An ecologist by the name of Suzanne made this discovery. She loves trees, and would lie on the forest floor and look up at the crowns of giant trees.

One day, her dog fell into an outhouse in the forest, and in the process of digging it out, she discovered the incredible root network the trees have beneath the ground.

She got curious and learned more about these great organisms. Scientists even found out that a pine seedling could share carbon with a fellow pine seedling through the root.

Yea, let that sink in for a moment.

Trees are supportive of each other, which is more than can be said of many humans.

When she decided to investigate the phenomenon further and understand trees and this secret underground network, some of her colleagues thought she was taking a break from reality.

Funding was obviously a problem. But not to be deterred, she planted 240 trees (birch, fir, and cedar).

Here's The Amazing Thing

When she ran a Geiger counter over the trees, for the cedars, all was quiet. But among the fir and the birch trees, there was loud communication going on as they shared carbon.

The birch trees would give carbon to fir trees, particularly when in the shade. The opposite also happened when it was the birch tree that had no leaves in the winter.

For the longest time, we have assumed that trees fought each other for resources like water, carbon and nutrients.

Now, it turns out, they are doing just the opposite.

There Are Very Strong Relationships And Communications Going On Between Trees

The trees communicate using chemical and hormonal signals through the mycelium. They then share resources and ensure there is balance within the forest.

These networks are very extensive, and they sometimes spread for several kilometers.

Also interesting was the discovery that mother trees would share their nutrients with younger trees. That also means that when these important trees are destroyed, a lot of other smaller trees suffer.

The Findings Should Help Inform Our Decisions Regarding Forest Management

Suzanne hypothesized that cutting many key trees can very well bring the whole forest ecosystem down. Additionally, it's not right to plant a single tree species, since trees of different species help each other out under various conditions.

This is incredible, right?

Who would have thought trees have this much intelligence and consideration for each other? I have to admit; I am curious as to what the trees sound like as they communicate their needs for various resources to their friends.