The Social Network of Trees
When thinking of networks, some of the networks that come to mind deal with people. These networks develop either through social networking, political networking, or business related networking. But, networks can develop through means other than those generated by human actions. Nature itself can be thought of as having it’s own network system. Through Suzanne Simard’s TEDTalk, we learn just how trees form their own connectedness and networks.
What if someone told you that trees could talk and they have a special way to connect to each other. Well, you may think that the person was crazy. But what Simard does is explain how trees talk through biological pathways that are embedded in their roots underneath the surface of the Earth. Simard conducted research using 80 replicates of three trees: paper birch, Douglas fir, and western red cedar. Simard injected the fir birch with carbon-14, a radioactive gas, and the fir with a stable isotope, carbon-13 carbon dioxide gas. By doing this, Simard was able to see how the fir and birch trees were sending carbon in a two-way manner throughout the year.
Now, how does this connect to our topic of networks in class? Well, the trees in this case had mycorrhiz, fungus roots. The fungal threads that come out of the stems form a mycelium, which then colonizes on the roots of other trees and allows for trees to share nutrients and carbon with one another. Simards explains that this mycorrhiz network, just like other networks, has nodes and links. There are mother trees, which are the busiest nodes that smaller seedling nodes attach to. From this, we see that the world is truly made up of networks, starting with nature.