The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World

Front Cover
Greystone Books, Sep 13, 2016 - Nature - 288 pages

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.

“Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—The New York Review of Books

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BRAINPICKINGS • HONORABLE MENTION: SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award • Shortlisted: Audible International Book of the Year Award • Books For a Better Life Award • Indie Choice Award—Nonfiction Book of the Year

Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland.

“A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.”—Washington Post

“Heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”—The New Yorker

Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist by Dr.Suzanne Simard

Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute


 

Contents

Friendships
1
The Language of Trees
6
Social Security
14
Love
19
The Tree Lottery
25
Slowly Does It
31
Forest Etiquette
37
Tree School
43
Hibernation
136
A Sense of Time
147
A Question of Character
151
The Sick Tree
155
Let There Be Light 
162
Street Kids
169
Burnout 
180
Destination North
186

United We Stand Divided We Fall
49
The Mysteries of Moving Water
56
Trees Aging Gracefully
60
Mighty Oak or Mighty Wimp?
68
Specialists
73
Tree or Not Tree?
79
In the Realm of Darkness
85
Carbon Dioxide Vacuums
93
Woody Climate Control 
99
The Forest as Water Pump
105
Yours or Mine?
113
Community Housing Projects
125
Mother Ships of Biodiversity
131
Tough Customers
195
Turbulent Times
201
Immigrants
211
Healthy Forest Air
221
Why Is the Forest Green?
227
Set Free
233
More Than Just a Commodity
241
Note from a Forest Scientist
247
Acknowledgments
251
Notes
252
Index
261
Copyright

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About the author (2016)

Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about the natural world including The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Lives of Animals, and The Secret Wisdom of Nature, which together make up his bestselling The Mysteries of Nature Series. He has also written numerous books for children including Can You Hear the Trees Talking? and Peter and the Tree Children.

Tim Flannery is a scientist, explorer and conservationist. He is a leading writer on climate change and his books include Atmosphere of Hope and The Weather Makers.

Jane Billinghurst’s career has been in book publishing in the UK, the US, and Canada, as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator. She is the translator of the New York Times-bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben.

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