If the carefully calibrated balance of energy for growth and defense gets thrown out of alignment, then a tree might get sick. This can happen, for example, when a neighboring tree dies. Suddenly, the crown gets more light, and now what the tree wants more than anything is more photosynthesis. That makes sense because a chance like this comes along

To put it another way, in summer an intact forest sweats for the same reason people do and with the same result.

Willows produce the defensive compound salicylic acid, which works in much the same way. But not on us. Salicylic acid is a precursor of aspirin, and tea made from willow bark can relieve headaches

A break in its bark, then, is at least as uncomfortable for a tree as a wound in our skin is for us. And, therefore, the tree relies on mechanisms similar to the ones we use to stop this from happening.

Wherever it hurts, that’s where the tree must strengthen its support structure.

Trees that don’t follow the etiquette manual find themselves in trouble. For example, if a trunk is curved, it has difficulties even when it is just standing there. The enormous weight of the crown is not evenly divided over the diameter of the trunk but weighs more heavily on the wood on one side. To prevent the trunk from giving way, the tree mus

forests are superorganisms with interconnections much like ant colonies.

The forest floor acts as a huge sponge that diligently collects all the rainfall. The trees make sure that the raindrops don’t land heavily on the ground but drip gently from their branches. The loosely packed soil absorbs all the water, so instead of the raindrops joining together to form small streams that rush away in the blink of an eye, they r

Given this reciprocal relationship between trees and weather, forest ecosystems probably play an important role in slowing down climate change.