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Trees seen resting branches while ‘asleep’ for the first time.
New Scientist ^
| May 18, 2016
| Andy Coghlan, Daily News
Posted on 05/19/2016 9:31:20 AM PDT by Carriage Hill
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They dont snore, but might creak during their slumbers. For the first time, trees have been shown to undergo physical changes at night that can be likened to sleep, or at least to day-night cycles that have been observed experimentally in
smaller plants.
Branches of birch trees have now been seen drooping by as much as 10 centimetres at the tips towards the end of the night.
It was a very clear effect, and applied to the whole tree, says András Zlinszky of the Centre for Ecological Research in Tihany, Hungary. No one has observed this effect before at the scale of whole trees, and I was surprised by the extent of the changes.
Zlinszky and his colleagues scanned trees in Austria and Finland with laser beams between sunset and sunrise. From the time it takes beams to bounce back from branches and leaves, they could measure the movements of each tree, in three dimensions and at resolutions of centimetres.
To: carriage_hill
2
posted on
05/19/2016 9:32:23 AM PDT
by
Carriage Hill
( A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
To: carriage_hill
3
posted on
05/19/2016 9:32:54 AM PDT
by
PJ-Comix
(Tell It, Skinner, about your Clinton Cash Payoff Money)
To: carriage_hill
Isn’t this just the opposite way of saying that plants turn toward sunlight during the day?
4
posted on
05/19/2016 9:33:01 AM PDT
by
DouglasKC
To: carriage_hill
Interesting. I am very glad that I can’t hear their screams when I cut them down with a chainsaw.
5
posted on
05/19/2016 9:38:01 AM PDT
by
Gator113
(~~Vote Trump 2016~~ Just livin' life my way. Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright. 👍)
To: carriage_hill
Are they claiming that the tree relaxes it’s muscles during sleep? Because I think I see a problem ...
6
posted on
05/19/2016 9:39:08 AM PDT
by
ClearCase_guy
(Nation States seem to be ending. The follow-on should not be Globalism, but Localism.)
To: PJ-Comix
7
posted on
05/19/2016 9:39:14 AM PDT
by
Celtic Conservative
(CC: purveyor of cryptic, snarky posts since December, 2000..)
To: PJ-Comix
8
posted on
05/19/2016 9:45:54 AM PDT
by
Carriage Hill
( A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
To: carriage_hill
Lazy ass trees. Get a job. Oh, they have one. Making O2 out of ‘See Uh OH 2’. Keep up the good work.
9
posted on
05/19/2016 9:47:00 AM PDT
by
rktman
(Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?!)
To: carriage_hill
Shocked FacePalm
10
posted on
05/19/2016 9:47:57 AM PDT
by
N. Theknow
(Kennedys-Can't drive, can't ski, can't fly, can't skipper a boat-But they know what's best for you.)
To: carriage_hill
My flowering trees are in full bloom in the morning, and the blooms close up in the late evening. Trees do react to the times of day.
I remember reading fifty five years ago that plants have “feelings”, in controlled tests with electronic monitoring equipment.
To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
I remember reading fifty five years ago that plants have feelings, in controlled tests with electronic monitoring equipment. "The Secret Life of Plants." Fascinating book.
12
posted on
05/19/2016 9:53:33 AM PDT
by
Talisker
(One who commands, must obey.)
To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
13
posted on
05/19/2016 9:54:27 AM PDT
by
Dr.Deth
To: carriage_hill
Country folk have seen Morning Glories and Sun Flowers for quite some time.
14
posted on
05/19/2016 9:55:49 AM PDT
by
TYVets
To: Gator113
And the trees are glad you can’t hear them give birds the idea to sit in their branches and aim for you.
15
posted on
05/19/2016 9:56:33 AM PDT
by
DannyTN
To: carriage_hill
Do you think the leaves just might weigh more at night because they collect dew on their surface? Obviously, the extra weight of all the leaf’s moisture would make the branch sag. But then I’m not a scientist, so what do I know?
16
posted on
05/19/2016 10:00:59 AM PDT
by
Auntie Dem
(Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Terrorist lovers gotta go!)
To: DouglasKC
“Isnt this just the opposite way of saying that plants turn toward sunlight during the day?”
That’s really what this is about despite the anthropomorphic babble.
I’ve got a Geranium right now with it’s leaves plastered up against the sliding glass door. Heading out to finally plant them today.
17
posted on
05/19/2016 10:01:26 AM PDT
by
headstamp 2
(Fear is the mind killer.)
To: carriage_hill
Branches of birch trees have now been seen drooping by as much as 10 centimetres at the tips towards the end of the night. I wonder if these scientists considered this might just be the effect sunlight / heat has on lumber. Heat a board to bend it by shrinking the cells in the wood.
18
posted on
05/19/2016 10:03:05 AM PDT
by
Flick Lives
(One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast. -- Heinlein)
To: carriage_hill
They could have figured this out by simply getting out of the city for a while and observing what every country person sees all the time. But I suppose there’s no research grants for that.
To: Flick Lives
Water drawing up through the roots and evaporating at the leaves, higher pressure, more rigid cells.
At night, no draw, pressure goes down, causes moderate deflation of the cells, they droop some.
< my story and I am sticking to it! >
20
posted on
05/19/2016 10:06:50 AM PDT
by
going hot
(Happiness is a Momma deuce)
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