DO TREES COORDINATE THEIR ACTIVITIES? Peter Wohlleben offers an explanation of mast years. It could be, of course, that each tree has the same reaction to a stimulus. However Wohlleben contends that trees can and do coordinate their activities. His book, which has just been translated into English from German, is entitled THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES: WHAT THEY FEEL, HOW THEY COMMUNICATE—DISCOVERIES FROM A SECRET WORLD.
Wohlleben contends that mast years are a good example of his general contention that trees coordinate their activities. In this review of his book, Alva Noe says: “Wohlleben gives other examples: Beeches and oaks drop nuts to the ground which are are highly prized by deer and wild boar. To cope with this, the trees, as a collective, hold back on dropping nuts for a year or two until the animal population has been reduced. Once this has come to pass, the trees, again, seemingly as a collective, will let their nuts fly. This is a striking example of what looks like thoughtful joint action on the part of the trees.”