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I was given Suzanne Simard\u2019s Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest<\/em><\/a> by a friend who knows me well.<\/p>\n She was undoubtedly thinking of the many times she\u2019s been subjected to \u2013 being more of a geology fan herself \u2013 my enthusiasm for the latest discovery about the complex ecology of soils and their place as the foundation of life.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s lots of that new, cutting edge science in Simard\u2019s book \u2013 as could only be expected from the woman whose 1997 PhD thesis explained the massive, hugely important discovery that she\u2019d made in her research, what\u2019s come to be known as the \u201cworld wide wood<\/a>\u201d. Put simply, trees communicate with each other \u2013 sharing warnings of dangers such as predators or pollution, sharing nutrients with each other \u2013 deciduous and evergreens swapping capacity through the year \u2013 through the mechanism of fungi in the soil, fungi that is also crucial to their health and growth.<\/p>\n That\u2019s together with wonderful, if sometimes gruesome, stories about the immense complexity of what\u2019s going on in healthy soils \u2013 which contain a billion organisms in a teaspoon. Science fiction filmmakers haven\u2019t come up with new ideas:<\/p>\n Mycorrhizal fungal threads growing from the tips of roots could invade the stomachs of soil-dwelling springtails feeding on decaying plant litter. The threads sucked the nitrogen straight out of the springtail stomachs and delivered it directly to their plant partners. The springtails, of course, suffered a horrible death.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n My fascination with these developments comes not just from their importance \u2013 given the massive destruction of these systems so crucial to our food security and climate inflicted on them through use of pesticides, industrial monoculture and ploughing \u2013 but is also personal. I studied soil science three decades ago \u2013 I even got a high distinction in the subject at Sydney University \u2013 but it was taught entirely as a chemistry subject. Description of life in the soil didn\u2019t get beyond earthworms. That such a foundational subject was so misunderstood is a powerful reminder of how the reductionism that\u2019s driven scientific thinking for decades has led us do profoundly astray.<\/p>\n Finding the Mother Tree<\/em> is not, however, primarily about the science on which Simard made so much progress. Rather, it is about the process of discovery, and the massive barriers that stood in the way of the scientific progress that she spearheaded.<\/p>\n And how gender discrimination remains a massive issue in science \u2013 which makes me also think of my two best friends from those university days, women who both went on to do PhD, one with extra post-doctoral research in Cambridge, neither of whom are now in a position to use those qualifications.<\/p>\n More, it is about the difficulty of progressing in science, and science policy \u2013 how entrenched interests, human and financial, stand in the way of scientific discovery.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve long thought that every academic paper should begin with a statement from the author or authors about their social, economic and professional interests in the subject \u2013 and a statement about \u201cwhy I am asking this question\u201d. For until we acknowledge that there\u2019s no such thing as bases, neutral, objective science, then there\u2019s a great flaw at the heart of our efforts to understand our world.<\/p>\n But that makes the Finding the Mother Tree<\/em> sound dry, and it is anything but that. Rather it is an autobiography, a personal story of a life extremely well lived, of family and community, of the community of innovative scientists stretching around the globe. And it is a story of love \u2013 of environment, family and friends.<\/p>\n In the House of Lords I\u2019ve recently been working on the Bill that will create the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency<\/a>. And trying to suggest that \u2013 rather than shiny new high-tech gizmos it should be focused on research such as Simard\u2019s.<\/p>\n And that would have direct , practical application on how we manage our land, and our lives. For the latest developments in Simard\u2019s work provide the title for the book. The \u201cmother tree\u201d refers to her and others\u2019 recent discoveries that trees nurture the young seedlings growing in their vicinity that are their own descendants, preferentially supporting them through drought and disease, boosting their growth and development.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s given me a new way to think about tree management in the UK, something that through the Save Sheffield Trees struggle<\/a> I\u2019ve developed quite an interest in. One outcome of that was greater clarity about the importance of trees to human wellbeing.<\/p>\n But we still say that when it is clear that a tree is dying, well sadly it has to be felled. Of course we\u2019ve got to make sure trees aren\u2019t a threat to human wellbeing during their dying days, but maybe we need to think harder about how we might allow trees to nurture their next generation as they die, rather than hastily grubbing them out.<\/p>\n PS. We hope you enjoyed this article. Bright Green has got big plans for the future to publish many more articles like this. You can help make that happen. Please\u00a0donate to Bright Green now<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Image credit: TED Conference \u2013 Creative Commons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The post Review: Suzanne Simard\u2019s Finding the Mother Tree<\/a> appeared first on Bright Green<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u200b\n
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