Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate

Have you done any forest bathing recently? Listened to what trees are saying to each other? In Forest Talk, you'll learn how to listen when trees talk. Studies show that forest bathing, or walking through a forest, has a calming effect on humans. Living near trees can also improve a person’s health. Trees are beneficial in many other ways. They provide homes for animals and insects. Edible fruits and nuts, and the wood we use to make homes, furniture, and paper, all come from trees. Trees are even part of the solution to climate change. They naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air. And they release oxygen—essential for almost all life on Earth. Trees help each other too. They share information, water, and other resources through an underground network of fungi attached to tree roots. Scientists call this network the Wood Wide Web. These underground connections can make trees healthy and strong.   Trees are in trouble though. Over thousands of years, humans have destroyed more than half of Earth’s forests to make room for massive farms, roads, and cities. Industries such as mining are polluting the forest ecosystems that remain. Trees need our help. Meet forest ecologists, botanists, and other scientists who are devoting their careers to learning more about trees and to saving them from destruction. Learn what you can do in your everyday life to be part of the solution.