Free Travel Article Directory

Scientists have discovered over recent decades that some trees and plants emit chemicals that provoke a survival-boosting reaction in surrounding trees or even in animals. The extent to which this represents trees “talking” remains under debate. In some cases, it seems passive: the second tree simply responds to the first tree’s chemical reaction to its own problem. In others, the communications strategies look far more intentional, with the endangered plant reaching out, such as the tobacco plant when besieged by hornworm caterpillars. Here are several examples of these communications strategies used by trees.

Walnut trees

When stressed by unusually high temperatures and droughts, walnut trees emit a chemical form of aspirin, methyl salicylate. This triggers the formation of proteins that boost their biochemical defences and reduce injury, analogous to a human’s immune response. Farmers hope to utilise this as an early warning signal for crops that are beginning to fail, before any visible signs like dying leaves appear. Additionally, these may be communications strategies for the trees themselves to ensure that all walnut trees in the ecosystem build up their defences, as lab research has indicated that a plant may begin forming the defensive proteins if linked to a plant emitting the chemical.

Poplars

In an experiment in New Hampshire, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin potted 45 young poplar trees and put 15 in an isolated chamber far away, as the control group. The other 30 were placed together. They mechanically ripped leaves off 15 trees while leaving the other half intact. They returned after two days to analyse the leaves for phenolics (certain noxious compounds), and found that the leaves from both the ripped and intact trees showed significant increases in these compounds. Meanwhile, the control group showed no change. This experiment indicated that poplars have communications strategies for spreading awareness of a leaf-destroying insect danger.

Acacias

Another example of these kinds of communications strategies are some African savannah acacias. When nibbled by antelope they produce leaf tannin in quantities lethal to the browsers, while simultaneously emitting ethylene into the air. Capable of travelling up to approximately 45 metres, this ethylene prompts neighbouring trees to produce their own leaf tannin within 5 to 10 minutes. This was discovered by Wouter Van Hoven of Pretoria University, South Africa while investigating the sudden death of 3,000 kudu antelope on game ranches in the Transvaal. Their fences forced them to continue eating the tannin-poisoned leaves, while giraffes, roaming freely in the ranches, only ate from one acacia tree in ten and avoided those downwind and thus were not affected.

Tobacco

In this example, the tobacco plants do not actually talk to their neighbours – instead they have communications strategies for summoning predators. Hornworm caterpillars are a pest to tobacco plants, devouring their leaves, but when a chemical in their spit reacts with airborne substances – called green leaf volatiles – released by the plants, the predatory big-eyed bug is drawn to the plant. There it feasts on the caterpillars, ridding the plant of its problem.

Jenny Kettlewell is the Marketing Manager for Multitone Systems, a leading telecommunications strategies company. Multitone has implemented custom, integrated communications strategy systems for businesses and organisations in the public and private sector for over 75 years.

Thank you for visiting Travel Articles Directory. Feel free to use any of our travel writing articles for your own website, on the condition that you also take the link we have included in the text. Check back for more travel writing soon; we’re uploading more original travel articles all the time!

This article was provided by LeadGenerators – the smartest SEO agency in London, and the proud host of a series of Internet Marketing training seminars and Social Media breakfasts.