Tress Make Nosies, and Some of Those Sounds Are Cries For Help

Smithsonian ^

[Dysart]

It’s easy to dismiss trees as inanimate features of the landscape, but these living, breathing organisms aren’t as stoic as they appear. Trees, it turns out, make all kinds of noises as they grow and respond to their environment. Happy, regularly growing trees sound different from drought stressed trees. Now, a team of researchers from Grenoble University in France is trying to pick out these cries for help amidst all the normal tree white noise in order to provide better, more targeted aid to trees suffering from drought, according to National Geographic.

In the case of drought, trees undergoing stress form tiny bubbles inside their trunks, NatGeo explains, which causes a unique ultrasonic noise.

Imagine using a straw to slurp the last few drops from the bottom of your glass: You have to increase the pressure even more. In drought-stricken trees, this increased pressure can cause the water column to break, allowing dissolved air to form bubbles that block water flow.

These breaks are called cavitations, and they can eventually lead to a tree’s demise, so researchers and managers are interested in identifying warning signs that indicate that a tree needs emergency watering.

[sneakers]

Whatn you been smokin’ Dysart? Can I have some?

[zeestephen]

The juvenile delinquent trees make chain saw sounds.

[diverteach]

Rush lyrics, The Trees immediately popped into mind when I saw this post.

There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the maples,
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade.

There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream “Oppression!”
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
“The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light.”
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.

[WhoisAlanGreenspan?]

I remember when I was just a little kid watching the Wizard of Oz, that scene with the trees throwing the apples was the creepiest part. But I loved trees then and I still do now.

Sorry, but wood is good! In so many ways...

[dfwgator]

Like Rush says, the most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut one down.

[wardaddy]

let’s not forget this chestnut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VThQr8fDiLA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Bigg Red]

Well, I know my beeber is stuned.

[EEGator]

I don't know if you guys remember this one or not. I had it as a little kid.

[Defiant]

I don't know where that tree is located. It should have a plaque, though. More here. Who knew trees and plants could be rated X?

[Dysart]

Guarantee you those womyn neither bathe nor shave.

[Dysart]

Whatn you been smokin’ Dysart? Can I have some?

Look, it's is not that easy; I have a gift. You have it or you don't and attempts at unnatural duplication are futile.

[Amberdawn]

I was joking, really. There is a homosexual resort on the Russian River in Ca.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[shibumi]

"Now, a team of researchers from Grenoble University in France is trying to pick out these cries for help amidst all the normal tree white noise in order to provide better, more targeted aid to trees suffering from drought, ..."

Or ... They ~could~ just look for the dry ones.

[Defiant]

It’s good that I didn’t know that, I guess.

[wardaddy]

yep

an expedition thru thigh shrub for their “partners” on make like a man night

[Windflier]

Looks like at least one Ent found his wife...

[sneakers]

Oh. OK.

[Michigan Bowhunter]

tree rollins....

[Inyo-Mono]

Thanks for sharing. Great story!