Trees Can Talk to Each Other

How do plants converse with each other? As human beings, we posses probably the most sophisticated communication abilities of any species on the planet. This makes it very easy for us to forget that every form of life has some ability to transmit information between individuals. This is true even at a microscopic level where bacterial cell-to-cell signaling is a popular research topic (ref 1).

Having been around for a very long time and being unable to move much, it is no surprise that plants have developed many sophisticated adaptations for the purpose of communication. Plants can communcate in a host of ways, see (ref. 2) for a brief overview. One of the most fascinating of these is the use of "smoke signals."

Ten years ago, researchers interested in plant biology and forest fires discovered that exposing seeds to smoke or certain nitrogenous compounds in smoke will induce germination (ref. 3). The evolutionary advantage of this behavior is presumed to be that forest fires leave an area rife for new growth.

The greater significance of this ability is our ongoing opportunity to learn from biological organisms. Although we use our intelligence to guide us in solving problems, we still use trial and error extensively. The greatest expert on trial and error is evolution. The process of evolving progressively more sophisticated life forms has relied on the use of trial and error for the last 3.7 billion years, and we would do well to realize that when it comes to the challenges of existing on earth, we've got a teacher who's got a valuable store of experience.


References

1. Melissa B. Miller & ­ Bonnie L. Bassler Quorum Sensing in Bacteria Annual Review of Microbiology 55: 165-199 [doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.165]

2. Ragan M. Callaway & Bruce E. Mahall Plant ecology: Family roots Nature 448, 145-147 [DOI: 10.1038/448145a]

3. Jon E. Keeley & C. J. Fotheringham Trace Gas Emissions and Smoke-Induced Seed Germination Science 276: 1248-1250 [DOI: 10.1126/science.276.5316.1248]