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

by Peter Wohlleben

There are more life forms in a handful of forest soil than there are people on the planet.

The assertion that burning wood is climate neutral is based on this concept. After all, it makes no difference if it’s small organisms reducing pieces of wood to their gaseous components or if the home hearth takes on this task, right?

Consider this. Threatened forests are inherently unstable, and therefore, they are not appropriate places for human beings to live. And because our Stone Age ancestors were always on the lookout for ideal places to set up camp, it would make sense if we could intuitively pick up on the state of our surroundings. There is a scientific observation that speaks to this: the blood pressure of forest visitors rises when they are under conifers, whereas it calms down and falls in stands of oaks.66 Why don’t you take the test for yourself and see in what type of forest you feel most comfortable?

On the other side of the Atlantic, in Virginia, the mission of the nonprofit Healing Harvest Forest Foundation is to “address human need for forest products while creating a nurturing co-existence between the forest and human community.” The foundation supports community-based forestry initiatives and promotes the use of horses, mules, and oxen to remove felled trees and the practice of removing single trees that are struggling when harvesting timber, leaving the healthiest standing.75

And who knows, perhaps one day the language of trees will eventually be deciphered, giving us the raw material for further amazing stories. Until then, when you take your next walk in the forest, give free rein to your imagination—in many cases, what you imagine is not so far removed from reality, after all!