The expression wood-wide web is a play on the term world-wide web. Both terms refer to communication networks. But in the case of the wood-wide web, communication is non-digital: it is chemical. Trees and other plants are able to send signals and communicate via airborne substances including hormones. In addition to wireless communication, forest trees share information and resources through wired underground root systems in cooperation with networks of mycorrhizal fungi.
Richard Grant recently wrote about the complex life of trees in a Smithsonian article [1]. He met with Peter Wohlleben—a German logger-turned-forest-conservationist, who is known for his book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Therein, Wohlleben describes the wood-wide web in non-technical prose backed up with scientific research results and related literature. Grant recalls in his article how Wohlleben talked about trees forming alliances among themselves and with other species [1]:
Other great writings that explain the world-wide web—plus examples of involved species—can be found in journals and blog posts [2-5].
What is the main difference between the wood-wide web and the world-wide web?
The latter is man-made, while, what is called the wood-wide web, is a complex biological system understood as a result of natural selection. World-wide webs—yes, we need to use the plural form since we don't talk about a global structure but locally confined worlds—may be around since the first time when trees and forests began struggling or thriving on earth's landscape.
Keywords: forest ecology, plant science, terminology, communication, signaling, networking.
[2] Robert Macfarlane: The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web. The New Yorker, August 7, 2016. Link: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-secrets-of-the-wood-wide-web.
[3] Emily Stone: The Wood Wide Web. Featured by William Graham. Link: http://www.freshvista.com/2016/the-wood-wide-web/.
[4] How Plants Work: The Wood-Wide-Web: Are Plants Inter-Connected by a Subterranean Fungal Network? Link: https://www.howplantswork.com/2011/07/26/the-wood-wide-web-are-plants-inter-connected-by-a-subterranean-fungal-network/.
[5] Z. T. Evans: Introduction ot the Wood-wide Web. Tellurian Studies, December 2, 2015. Link: http://tellurianstudies.weebly.com/introduction-to-the-wood-wide-web.html.
Richard Grant recently wrote about the complex life of trees in a Smithsonian article [1]. He met with Peter Wohlleben—a German logger-turned-forest-conservationist, who is known for his book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Therein, Wohlleben describes the wood-wide web in non-technical prose backed up with scientific research results and related literature. Grant recalls in his article how Wohlleben talked about trees forming alliances among themselves and with other species [1]:
“Some are calling it the ‘wood-wide web,’ ” says Wohlleben in German-accented English. “All the trees here, and in every forest that is not too damaged, are connected to each other through underground fungal networks. Trees share water and nutrients through the networks, and also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought and disease, for example, or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behavior when they receive these messages.”
Other great writings that explain the world-wide web—plus examples of involved species—can be found in journals and blog posts [2-5].
What is the main difference between the wood-wide web and the world-wide web?
The latter is man-made, while, what is called the wood-wide web, is a complex biological system understood as a result of natural selection. World-wide webs—yes, we need to use the plural form since we don't talk about a global structure but locally confined worlds—may be around since the first time when trees and forests began struggling or thriving on earth's landscape.
Keywords: forest ecology, plant science, terminology, communication, signaling, networking.
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| Forest around Tahoe Meadows above Lake Tahoe: How connected is it? |
References and more to explore
[1] Richard Grant: The Whispering of the Trees. Smithsonian, March 2018, 48 (10), pp. 48-57.[2] Robert Macfarlane: The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web. The New Yorker, August 7, 2016. Link: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-secrets-of-the-wood-wide-web.
[3] Emily Stone: The Wood Wide Web. Featured by William Graham. Link: http://www.freshvista.com/2016/the-wood-wide-web/.
[4] How Plants Work: The Wood-Wide-Web: Are Plants Inter-Connected by a Subterranean Fungal Network? Link: https://www.howplantswork.com/2011/07/26/the-wood-wide-web-are-plants-inter-connected-by-a-subterranean-fungal-network/.
[5] Z. T. Evans: Introduction ot the Wood-wide Web. Tellurian Studies, December 2, 2015. Link: http://tellurianstudies.weebly.com/introduction-to-the-wood-wide-web.html.
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