"Finding the Mother Tree" by Suzanne Simard is in the news. She has published this book on the connection between trees in the forest and how the community functions. The book is describe as "a luminous weave of memoir, scientific treatise and Native-inflected meditation — is her singular story, rooted in keen observation and leaps of imagination."
She was interviewed on CBC radio and she could have spoken for hours, she was so interesting. As a forest scientist, she has studied the forest community for decades. It is now that attention is finding its way to her scientific work.
Simard rejected the forest industry's clear-cutting and turned increasingly toward environmental advocacy. She swallowed her fear of public speaking. She published groundbreaking papers on how plants of all kinds send chemical signals to each other — a "wood-wide web."
The title is about Mother trees. They are the largest trees in forests that act as central hubs for vast below-ground mycorrhizal networks. A mother tree supports seedlings by infecting them with fungi and supplying them the nutrients they need to grow. It was found the mother trees change their root structure to make room for baby trees. The Mother Tree Project summarizes it HERE. I particularly was intrigued by the connections between aspen and birch - they protect and sustain each other.
I wonder what orchard trees would have to say about the forest community. How should we grow them? A glimpse is go en by The Heart of England Forest HERE. They are planting native fruit trees in 'the heart of England' forest - in Warwickshire.
I found two distinct viewpoints on Saturday - the first looking down on a Stewart Road orchard towards the Welland Canal, and the second looking up at an orchard on a hill. The trees seem to be marching along.
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