Plants' Hidden Language: How They Communicate in Silence

Contrary to popular belief, plants are not solitary entities. More recently, measurable scientific data portrays an ecosystem where plants behave as social beings. They can count, report time, reminisce, nurture kinfolk germlings, and interact with foreign species through complex cryptograms – an extraordinary feat that enthralled researchers worldwide. The phenomenon was first discovered in 1997 by Suzanne Simard, a forest ecologist at the University of British Columbia. The primary mode of plant communication is an underground network that links plant roots, allowing them to cooperate and compete with one another. The channel for this information exchange is an invisible soil microbiota known as mycorrhizal fungi distributing nutrients and signals between different plants connected via their vast interconnected network, the 'Wood Wide Web'. Plugging into the fungal networks allows plants to share resources like carbon, nitrogen, and water (Simard et al., 1997). In addition to nutrition sharing, these interconnected organisms act as a defense mechanism against potential threats. It's found that if attacked by pests or diseases, trees can release chemical signals through their mycelial connections, warning their neighbors about the danger so they can strengthen their defenses (Barto et al., 2012). This mutualistic association fosters coexistence in diverse communities, promoting biodiversity. Despite being unearthed over two decades ago, this research remains crucial but underrepresented in mainstream science education channels, making it less known amongst the general audience. Citations: - Simard S.W., Perry D.A., Jones M.D., Myrold D.D., Durall D.M., Molina R.(1997) Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature 388, 579–582 - Barto E.K., Hilker M., Muller F., Mohney B.K., Weidenhamer J.D., Rillig M.C.(2011) The fungal fast lane: standard mycorrhizal networks extend bioactive zones of allelochemicals in soils. PLoS ONE 6:e27195