I am midway through reading Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees and I am finding its contents absolutely fascinating.
That being said, though I have not made my career of it I do possess a degree in Zoology with a minor in Wildlife Biology (from what feels like another life) and many of the claims, though coming along with some measure of citation and backing via scientific study, strike me as more anecdotal observations of the author than researched scientific fact. Granted, many of the theories posited would be difficult to prove or disprove given the timescale and difficulty of studying trees and their nature in a controlled or laboratory environment.
All that being said, the role of intertwined root networks and symbiotic relations with fungi serving as a community and even forest-wide information sharing system is utterly intriguing and highlights that there is so much we don’t and cannot know about trees given how different we are as beings.
Some of the theories are even a little disturbing when overlayed onto the practice of Bonsai, most notably restricting what could be as social a creature as Wohlleben posits into a life of isolation, restriction, and even “pain”-inducing alteration.
As I make my way through the rest of the volume I wanted to stimulate some discussion here about the book and folks’ thoughts on its place in our understanding of these majestic organisms. It is mentioned in passing here and there on this site but I wanted to give discussion dedicated to it a home and hopefully come back to some of your insights after I’ve put it down.
That being said, though I have not made my career of it I do possess a degree in Zoology with a minor in Wildlife Biology (from what feels like another life) and many of the claims, though coming along with some measure of citation and backing via scientific study, strike me as more anecdotal observations of the author than researched scientific fact. Granted, many of the theories posited would be difficult to prove or disprove given the timescale and difficulty of studying trees and their nature in a controlled or laboratory environment.
All that being said, the role of intertwined root networks and symbiotic relations with fungi serving as a community and even forest-wide information sharing system is utterly intriguing and highlights that there is so much we don’t and cannot know about trees given how different we are as beings.
Some of the theories are even a little disturbing when overlayed onto the practice of Bonsai, most notably restricting what could be as social a creature as Wohlleben posits into a life of isolation, restriction, and even “pain”-inducing alteration.
As I make my way through the rest of the volume I wanted to stimulate some discussion here about the book and folks’ thoughts on its place in our understanding of these majestic organisms. It is mentioned in passing here and there on this site but I wanted to give discussion dedicated to it a home and hopefully come back to some of your insights after I’ve put it down.
