TED演讲:树木之间如何交流(9)
Mother trees colonize their kin with bigger mycorrhizal networks.
母树通过更大的菌根网络来覆盖住自己孩子们所在的区域。
They send them more carbon below ground.
在地下，它们给孩子们会送去更多的碳。
They even reduce their own root competition to make elbow room for their kids.
它们甚至会减少它们自己和其它树根部的竞争，来为它们的孩子们创造更多的活动空间。
When mother trees are injured or dying,
当母树受伤或即将枯死的时候，
they also send messages of wisdom on to the next generation of seedlings.
它们还会把智慧信息传给下一代的幼苗。
So we’ve used isotope tracing to trace carbon moving from an injured mother tree
我们使用同位素示踪法来追踪碳的走向，从一棵受伤的母树
down her trunk into the mycorrhizal network and into her neighboring seedlings,
树干的地方一直向下到地下的真菌网络，再到它周围的幼苗中，
not only carbon but also defense signals.
不仅仅是碳元素，还有防卫信号的走向。
And these two compounds have increased the resistance of those seedlings to future stresses.
这两种混合物可以给这些幼苗增加抵抗力，来面对未来的压力。
So trees talk. Thank you.
所以树是会说话的。谢谢。
Through back and forth conversations, they increase the resilience of the whole community.
通过反反复复的对话，它们增强了整个团体的恢复力。
It probably reminds you of our own social communities, and our families, well, at least some families.
这可能会使你联想到我们人类的社会群体和我们的家庭，当然，至少有些家庭是这样团结的。
So let’s come back to the initial point.
那么让我们回到最初的话题吧。
Forests aren’t simply collections of trees,
森林不是简简单单的树的“集合”，
they’re complex systems with hubs and networks that overlap and connect trees and allow them to communicate,
森林是拥有枢纽和网络的复杂系统，它可以承载树木并且把树连接起来，使得它们可以互相沟通，
and they provide avenues for feedbacks and adaptation, and this makes the forest resilient.
它给树木提供了互相反馈的渠道和适应的方式，也使得森林的恢复力变得更强。
That’s because there are many hub trees and many overlapping networks.
这是因为在森林中存在着许多的中心树和重重叠叠的网络。
But they’re also vulnerable, vulnerable not only to natural disturbances
但森林也还是很脆弱的，之所以脆弱不仅仅是因为它们会受到自然界的干扰，
like bark beetles that preferentially attack big old trees but high-grade logging and clear-cut logging.
比如树皮甲虫会时不时地攻击粗壮的老树，而是因为高强度伐木和皆伐的影响。
三毛说“如果有来生，要做一棵树，站成永恒，没有悲伤的姿势：一半在尘土里安详，一半在空中飞扬；一半散落阴凉，一半沐浴阳光。非常沉默非常骄傲，从不依靠从不寻找。”但是你知道吗？其实大树并不沉默。在地下存在着另外一个世界，它们使得无数的大树可以彼此交流，一片森林表现的像一个整体。它们是如何做到的呢？来一起且听树语。