Trees are "social creatures" that communicate with each other in cooperative ways that hold lessons for humans, too, ecologist Suzanne Simard says. The trees [are] sharing "information that actually is important to the health of the whole forest." She says the trees in a forest are often linked to each other via an older tree she calls a "mother" or "hub" tree.
"In connecting with all the trees of different ages, [the mother trees] can actually facilitate the growth of these understory seedlings," she says. "The seedlings will link into the network of the old trees and benefit from that huge uptake resource capacity. And the old trees would also pass a little bit of carbon and nutrients and water to the little seedlings, at crucial times in their lives, that actually help them survive."
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