The secret language of trees - Camille Defrenne and Suzanne Simard

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Most of the forest lives in the shadow of the giants

Večina gozda se nahaja v senci velikanov,

that make up the highest canopy.

ki imajo največje krošnje.

These are the oldest trees,

To so najstarejša drevesa

with hundreds of children and thousands of grandchildren.

s stotinami otrok in tisoči vnukov.

They check in with their neighbors, sharing food, supplies,

Pazijo na svoje sosede, si delijo hrano, potrebščine

and wisdom gained over their long lives.

in modrost, ki so jo razvila skozi svoja dolga življenja.

They do all this rooted in place, unable to speak, reach out, or move around.

Vse to počnejo zakoreninjena, brez besed, dotikov in premikanja.

The secret to their success lies under the forest floor,

Skrivnost njihovega uspeha leži pod gozdnimi tlemi,

where vast root systems support the towering trunks above.

kjer ogromni sistemi korenin podpirajo debla nad njimi.

Partnering with these roots are symbiotic fungi called mycorrhizae.

S koreninami sodelujejo simbiotične glive, imenovame mikorize.

These fungi have countless branching, thread-like hyphae

Te glive imajo nešteto razvejanih, vlaknom podobnih hif,

that together make up the mycelium.

ki skupaj sestavljajo micelij.

The mycelium spreads across a much larger area than the tree root system

Micelij je razvejan po večjem območju kot sistem drevesnih korenin

and connect the roots of different trees together.

in med sabo povezuje korenine več dreves.

These connections form mycorrhizal networks.

Te povezave oblikujejo mikorizno mrežo.

Through mycorrhizal networks,

Preko teh mrež

fungi can pass resources and signaling molecules between trees.

glive med drevesi prenašajo vire in signalne molekule.

We know the oldest trees have the largest mycorrhizal networks

Vemo, da imajo najstarejša drevesa največje mikorizne mreže

with the most connections to other trees,

z največ povezavami do drugih dreves,

but these connections are incredibly complicated to trace.

a tem povezavam je neverjetno težko slediti.

That’s because there are about a hundred species of mycorrhizal fungi–

To pa zato, ker obstaja okoli sto vrst mikoriznih gliv,

and an individual tree might be colonized by dozens of different fungal organisms,

vsako drevo ima lahko na sebi na ducate različnih organizmov gliv,

each of which connects to a unique set of other trees,

od katerih je vsak povezan z drugo skupino dreves,

which in turn each have their own unique set of fungal associations.

kar pomeni, da ima vsak svojo skupino povezav preko gliv.

To get a sense of how substances flow through this network,

Da bi dobili občutek, kako snovi tečejo po tej mreži,

let’s zoom in on sugars,

si oglejmo sladkorje,

as they travel from a mature tree to a neighboring seedling.

ki potujejo od zrelega drevesa k sosednji sadiki.

Sugar’s journey starts high above the ground,

Pot sladkorja se začne visoko nad tlemi

in the leaves of the tallest trees above the canopy.

v listih najvišjih dreves nad krošnjo.

The leaves use the ample sunlight up there to create sugars through photosynthesis.

Listi s pomočjo veliko sončne svetlobe s fotosintezo ustvarijo sladkorje.

This essential fuel then travels through the tree

To gorivo potem potuje po drevesu

to the base of the trunk in the thick sap.

do podnožja debla kot gost sok.

From there, sugar flows down to the roots.

Od tam steče v korenine.

Mycorrhizal fungi encounter the tips of the roots

Mikorizne glive najdejo konce korenin

and either surround or penetrate the outer root cells,

in jih obkrožijo ali vstopijo v zunanje celice korenin,

depending on the type of fungi.

odvisno od vrste gliv.

Fungi cannot produce sugars, though they need them for fuel just like trees do.

Glive ne proizvajajo sladkorjev, čeprav jih tudi one potrebujejo kot gorivo.

They can, however,

Lahko pa

collect nutrients from the soil much more efficiently than tree roots—

iz prsti bolj učinkovito kot drevesa pobirajo hranila

and pass these nutrients into the tree roots.

in jih prenašajo v korenine dreves.

In general,

Na splošno

substances flow from where they are more abundant to where they are less abundant,

snovi tečejo od tam, kjer jih je več, tja, kjer jih je manj,

or from source to sink.

oziroma od izvira k potrebam.

That means that the sugars flow from the tree roots into the fungal hyphae.

To pomeni, da sladkorji tečejo iz drevesnih korenin v hife gliv.

Once the sugars enter the fungus,

Ko sladkor vstopi v glivo,

they travel along the hyphae through pores between cells

potuje po hifih skozi pore med celicami

or through special hollow transporter hyphae.

ali skozi posebne votle transportne hife.

The fungus absorbs some of the sugars,

Gliva vsrka nekaj sladkorja,

but some travels on and enters the roots of a neighboring tree,

ostali del potuje naprej do korenin sosednjega drevesa,

a seedling that grows in the shade and has less opportunity

do sadike, ki raste v senci in ima manj priložnosti

to photosynthesize sugars.

za fotosintezo sladkorjev.

But why does fungus transport resources from tree to tree?

Ampak zakaj gliva prenaša vire med drevesi?

This is one of the mysteries of the mycorrhizal networks.

To je ena od skrivnosti mikoriznih mrež.

It makes sense for fungus to exchange soil nutrients and sugar with a tree—

Smiselno je, da gliva z drevesom izmenja sladkorje in hranila iz prsti,

both parties benefit.

oba imata koristi od tega.

The fungus likely benefits in less obvious ways from being part of a network

Gliva ima verjetno koristi od tega, da je del mreže

between trees, but the exact ways aren’t totally clear.

med drevesi, a ne vemo točno, kako.

Maybe the fungus benefits from having connections

Morda glivam koristijo povezave

with as many different trees as possible,

s čimveč različnimi drevesi,

and maximizes its connections by shuttling molecules between trees.

zato te povezave krepijo s prenašanjem molekul med drevesi.

Or maybe plants reduce their contributions to fungi

Morda pa rastline zmanjšajo svoj prispevek glivam,

if the fungi don’t facilitate exchanges between trees.

če te ne pomagajo pri izmenjavi med drevesi.

Whatever the reasons,

Kakorkoli že,

these fungi pass an incredible amount of information between trees.

glive prenašajo neverjetno veliko informacij med drevesi.

Through the mycorrhizae, trees can tell when nutrients or signaling molecules

Skozi mikorize drevesa vedo, ali hranila oziroma signalne molekule

are coming from a member of their own species or not.

prihajajo od drevesa iste vrste ali ne.

They can even tell when information is coming from a close relative

Vedo celo, kdaj informacija prihaja od bližnjega sorodnika,

like a sibling or parent.

recimo brata, sestre ali starša.

Trees can also share information about events like drought

Drevesa delijo tudi informacije o dogodkih, kot je suša,

or insect attacks through their fungal networks,

ali napad insektov, vse to skozi mreže gliv.

causing their neighbors to increase production of protective enzymes

S tem njihovi sosedje povečajo proizvodnjo zaščitnih encimov,

in anticipation of threats.

da so pripravljeni na grožnje.

The forest’s health relies on these intricate communications and exchanges.

Zdravje gozdov je odvisno od teh zapletenih izmenjav.

With everything so deeply interconnected,

Ker je vse tako zelo povezano med seboj,

what impacts one species is bound to impact others.

tisto, kar vpliva na eno vrsto, vpliva tudi na druge.