HN Books @HNBooksMonth

If interested in plants/ trees, I highly recommend (not a pure science book) Hidden Life Of Trees https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

⬐ bookofjoe

Also Richard Powers' 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Overstory." It's superb.

⬐ ch4s3

I thought it was quite good, if a little reflexively anti-urban. But it definitely makes trees seem super fascinating.

Mostly, it is due to weather and the direction of sunlight (and due to pests, etc.). Also leaves at the top, those on the outside get more exposed to sunlight and the plant allocates these leaves more chlorophyll for synthesis (hence green). Comparatively, leaves on the inside do not get much sunlight and serve no purpose, so to say. So the plant/ tree sucks the chlorophyll back from these leaves. Now such leaves which do not take part in synthesis can expose the plant to too cold/ too hot weather due to their surfaces area. So the plant/tree sheds them. Of course too severe weather will impact all leaves so in winter etc trees are bare.

If interested, I highly recommend (not a pure science book) Hidden Life Of Trees https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

My partner showed me the book The Hidden Life of Trees:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771642483/

It suggests that trees may have some kind of hive intelligence in their roots and through the fungal networks they can communicate and share resources. It isn't something that I've investigated in a ton of detail but the ideas seem scientifically informed.

⬐ filoeleven

I haven’t read the book either; it’s on my list. I do hope it gives fungal networks their due—other research points to the fungi being the ones who decide how to share the resources, in essence farming the trees. It’s a mutualistic relationship that upwards of 90% of plant species participate in. The book Entangled Life, which I haven’t read yet either, looks at things more from this perspective.

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. Rather than viewing trees as a hive intelligence, I think it’s plausible that we’ve been missing the forest as a whole organism. Perhaps “ecosystem” just means “an organism that is bigger than any one of us.”

⬐ bigiain

Try this book::

https://www.amazon.com/Thus-Spoke-Plant-Groundbreaking-Disco...

It describes some experiments which can be interpreted as plants "remembering" and "predicting" things.

Here's a recording of a (~1 hour) presentation I saw her give: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZFKon7kook

I don't know what to make of this, but it's certainly made me think differently...

I'd recommend this book, it explains a few interactions between species of animals / insects / plants and shows how everything is more of less connected in ways we can't imagine

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

Learned this in "The Hidden Life of Trees". Great book.

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

The Hidden Life of Trees https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

I just recently read a great book called The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben [1] that touches on the subject of a social network among trees via a fungal network known as the "Wood Wide Web" [2].

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discove...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/world/europe/german-fores...

⬐ stinos

Came here to post the same. While the book isn't super scientific and lacks certain depth if you already know some things about nature/biology/ecosystems/..., I found it extremely pleasant to read. And it also contains some real 'whaaaat? I had no clue' moments. It's now my go-to book recommendation for anyone who likes e.g. walking in nature but has not much further knowledge of it. And the few people I know who did read it all came back with the same sentiment: 'wow, I have been strolling around in forests half my life but I didn't know half of the things mentioned in this book'.

Do you know how far from the tree do these network travel? Do the other trees it 'communicates' with have to be right next to it or can they be some distance?

As someone who has a passing interest in mycology I find this as much interesting in how important fungi is to the world as are trees. It has many proponents who believe fungi doesn't get enough credit for fueling the world's ecology as plants and trees. Possibly due to mushrooms perception as being harmful to humans.

Thanks for the book recommendation (Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate-Discove...).

⬐ gehwartzen

Yeah, I was just thinking how some of our seemingly established forestry principles of thinning out overgrown portions of forests to keep it 'healthy' or engaging in selective logging could be disrupting some of these networks.

Amazon UK Link = http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1771642483/

Due to be published 13 Sept. 2016