The Hidden Life of Trees: The International Bestseller – What They Feel, How They Communicate

The Hidden Life of Trees: The International Bestseller – What They Feel, How They Communicate
Peter Wohlleben

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. In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to.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.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. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. 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. 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.After a walk through the woods with Wohlleben, you’ll never look at trees the same way again.

foreword by TIM FLANNERY

PETER WOHLLEBEN

TRANSLATION BY JANE BILLINGHURST

COPYRIGHT (#u7c174952-fdef-53ab-9e06-9e35422883eb)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com

This eBook edition published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2017

Originally published in Germany as Das geheime Leben der Bäume. Was sie fühlen, wie sie kommunizieren. Die Entdeckung einer verborgenen Welt. By Peter Wohlleben © 2015 by Ludwig Verlag, a division of Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH, München, Germany.

The Hidden Life of Trees first published in the English language by Greystone Books Ltd in 2016, Vancouver, Canada.

English translation copyright © 2016 by Jane Billinghurst

Foreword copyright © 2016 by Tim Flannery

‘Note from a Forest Scientist’ copyright © 2016 by Dr. Suzanne Simard

Peter Wohlleben asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copyediting by Shirarose Wilensky

Jacket and interior design by Nayeli Jimenez

Jacket and interior illustrations by Briana Garelli

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008218430

Ebook Edition © August 2017 ISBN: 9780008218447

Version: 2017-07-24

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover (#u2a8bca38-05ab-58a3-b465-da49bc53ee7f)

Title Page (#u1c5a3256-419d-5029-b8b1-41a1a2a1b39c)

Copyright

Foreword by Tim Flannery

Introduction to the English Edition

Introduction

1 / Friendships

2 / The Language of Trees

3 / Social Security

4 / Love

5 / The Tree Lottery

6 / Slowly Does It

7 / Forest Etiquette

8 / Tree School

9 / United We Stand, Divided We Fall

10 / The Mysteries of Moving Water

11 / Trees Aging Gracefully

12 / Mighty Oak or Mighty Wimp?

13 / Specialists

14 / Tree or Not Tree?

15 / In the Realm of Darkness

16 / Carbon Dioxide Vacuums

17 / Woody Climate Control

18 / The Forest as Water Pump

19 / Yours or Mine?