Internet of plants: a tomato knows as much about networks as you

The possibility of plant species communicating through complex networks, what some scientists have called the internet of plants , is an issue that has been discussed for a long time, at least 20 years.It was in 1997 when the scientist Suzanne Simard , from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada), published a study in the journal Nature on how Forest plants use complex systems where species exchange nutrients, send warning signals and relate to the environment.

Although there is no scientific consensus, several investigations seem to support this hypothesis.If confirmed, as we read in a fascinating report by the Sinc Agency, the forests would act as huge structures that are articulated under the soil through a network in which factors invisible to the human eye interact and can determine the future of the climate.Understanding how it works is the challenge that even science faces.

internet of plants and the wisdom of forests

The premise of Suzanne Simard is that those responsible for this collaboration are mycorrhiza networks, that is, the symbiosis between fungi and plant roots.This connection, which is also known as the Hartig network , allows the exchange of nutrients, water and carbon with and between the plant species to which they are connected.This idea of ​​ internet of plants inspired the ecological allegation of the movie Avatar and, thus, in the film released in 2009 we can hear the doctor played by the actress Sigourney Weaver say that on the Pandora moon of the planet Polyphemus resources are managed thanks to "some type of electrochemical communication between tree roots ".

Despite the acceptance by the entire scientific community about the importance of these interactions, the controversy begins when Simard refers to these connections as "wisdom of the forest" , an expression that sounds more to a children's story than to science.To dispel the doubts, other researchers have begun to study in the last years this network of underground pipes of roots and hyphae (cylindrical filaments of the body of fungi), which can reach kilometers and appear in all weather systems.

The hypothesis of an internet of plants may sound a bit crazy, but more and more evidence is confirming it. Josep Penuelas , a CSIC researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications (CREAF) states that "through evolution, plants and other organisms have developed a kind of language, biochemical pathways, which they have used to communicate and act in response to the message received," says the scientific.

felling trees that disconnect your wifi

A study of the journal Science showed, after five years of research, that some copies of European spruce with more than 120 years old transferred carbon to other trees, both their peers and those of different species.After their experiments, Tamir Klein, a geochemist at the University of Basel (Switzerland), concluded that «the forest is more than a collection of individual trees, since they not only compete for resources but share them, acting collectively."

In these same forests, ecologist Kevin Beiler, researcher at the University of Eberswalde (Germany) and disciple of Simard, I map the links between mycorrhizae species in a forest and Douglas firs ( Pseudotsuga menziesi ) through their genetic connections.The results from this first sampling, published in the Journal of Ecolog and, overwhelmed the researcher, who observed how the roots of each Douglas fir were probably linked to "more than 1,000 species of mycorrhizal fungi, "he says.

These networks, similar to those we use in the home WiFi, are in danger of "disconnecting" from the massive logging of trees, but against other threats, such as Increased carbon dioxide emissions, the pipes that connect the trees play an essential role, especially given that forests absorb about 30% of these emissions.

In another study of Science , published last January, the scientist of the University of British Columbia, Jonathan A.Bennett, focused on the relationships of 550 populations of 55 species of trees North America.The main hypothesis was that adult specimens, having grown during decades in the same place, have established many interactions with other soil organisms and the results confirmed it.

tomatoes and beans

Tomatoes and beans also use certain forms of communication. To prove it, in research published in Frontiers in Plant Science by Ren Sen Zeng, of the Agricultural University In Fujian, pairs of potted tomato plants were grown in China and in some samples the vegetables were allowed to form mycorrhizal networks , while in others I limit this symbiosis.

When the fungal nets had finished forming, the leaves of one plant of each pair were sprayed with Alternaria solani , a fungus that causes tizon disease in agricultural crops.After 65 hours, Zeng infected the plant that was healthy in each pair, but the specimens that were attached to a mycorrhic network showed resistance to the fungus, being less likely to get sick; and when they did, stress levels were lower.

Another research similar to Zeng's is that conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), led by David Johnson.For their study, published in Insights&Perspectives , beans were selected, some of which were exposed to aphids, species of insects whose pests are a threat to agricultural and forestry crops.In the study, these organisms were fed with the leaves of the bean plant to which they could access."Those that were connected through the mycelia (mass of hyphae of the fungus) excreted chemical defenses against the sounds, while those that were not connected could not react" , points to Sinc Johnson.

In view of these studies, Do you still find a crazy idea the existence of an internet of plants?

Source: Sinc Agency

Images: Pixabay