Individual trees can learn, plan, and cooperate with others of their own kind. The variety of means trees use to communicate with one another and the lengths they go to nourish each other is stunning, and while there will be doubts about whether this is done in any deliberate sense, the same thing might be said by alien species watching us from afar. One thing's for sure: I'll never look at trees and forests in the same way again. As he says, a happy forest is a healthy forest, and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth.Īfter a walk through the woods with Wohlleben, you’ll never look at trees the same way again. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him.

Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group.Īs a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to. How do trees live? Do they feel pain, or have awareness of their surroundings? Research is now suggesting trees are capable of much more than we have ever known.

The hidden life of trees