Underneath our feet is an underground network that trees use to send signals to each other.
In the latest studies, scientists examined whether “information network” how plants work, although they did not identify the specific messages plants send to each other.
Dr. Yuri Shtessel of the University of Alabama and Dr. Alexander Volkov of Oakwood University (USA) used physical experiments and mathematical models to study the transmission of electrical signals between plants. They demonstrated that plants take advantage of mycorrhizal phenomenon (i.e. symbiosis between plant roots and seeds with fungi in the soil) as a kind of electrical circuit.
Plants generate electrical signals, which travel through their parts.
New research provides a better understanding of the underground network of electrical signals sent from tree to tree, although it is not yet clear what messages might be sent back and forth.
In 2017, Yuri Shtessel and Alexander Volkov collaborated for the first time and published a scientific paper on research and experiments in which they examined the functioning of underground information exchange networks of plants.
“We had been talking about the propagation of electrical signals in the soil, through tree trunks, and between tree species. I proposed to build electrical circuits and corresponding mathematical models that describe these processes” – Dr. Yuri Shtessel recalls.
By combining physical experiments and mathematical models based on differential equations, scientists have studied how electrical signals emitted by plants work.
“What signals can be obtained from mathematical models of communication processes? The answer is simple: We can use mathematical models to simulate those processes on computers, instead of performing expensive and lengthy experiments” – Dr. Shtessel explained.
Plants generate electrical signals, which travel through their parts. In the experiment, when the roots were isolated by air gaps, the electrical signals could not be transmitted to other plants. However, if the plants lived together in the same plot of land, they could send electrical signals to each other through a network of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil.
Scientists don’t know the specifics of the messages plants send to each other. And the ability to recognize those features is beyond the scope of the experiments in this study. Scientists don’t even know if the communication between plants serves a purpose. Some have suggested that plants may be sending messages about threats to each other.
“Scientists have not done studies to reproduce the electrical signals sent by trees to each other. The next issue is to study communication between trees using electrical waves in the air. However, this is a completely different story, not yet deeply studied.” – Dr. Shtessel said.
According to GD&TĐ