Many people, especially those who find themselves in the forest at night, suspect that the trees may move. This idea was used by a famous writer. Tolkien similarly "brought to life" trees in his works in the areas of the Old Forest and Fangorn. But how close are these fictions to reality?
Do trees know how to move
Despite the fact that folklore can scare people with its terrifying stories, scholars are ready to agree that there is still some truth in them. During the night, trees are able to raise and lower their branches several times.
But this is not done to intimidate bystanders and not even to warm up stagnant tree crowns.
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Trees are forced to perform such manipulations to transport sugar and water. This can be regarded as a kind of heartbeat of these plants.
What is it for
Trees need photosynthesis of glucose to form more complex molecules. To carry out this procedure, the plants draw water from the roots into the leaves. Previously it was believed that this happens during the daytime. However, new research has shown that the situation here is much more complicated.
It is very difficult to trace the movement of water along special veins of trees. But there are other ways of doing research. Some trees can lower their branches by ten centimeters at night. And they raise them to their original position with the rising of the sun. This process is so slow that it was previously considered available only to some plant species.
Process study
Now the researchers are engaged in a more detailed study of this point. A scientist from Denmark used laser scanning in his research. This helped to accurately measure the location of branches and leaves. The experiment involved 22 species of trees and shrubs.
The observed movements of the branches could indicate the pumping of the tree with moisture, as a result of which the water pressure inside the plant changed.
Different types of plants go through this cycle in different ways. This is most clearly inherent in magnolia, which is able to carry out three cycles of adjusting the position of its branches per night.
Scientists believe this data could help diagnose stress and tree diseases. If you notice deviations in the normal movement of tree branches, timely intervention can be made to help the plant cope with the problem.
This can help preserve more than one affected plant in the future.
Christina Rudakova
