Now we hear the whisper of one of the largest and oldest living creatures on Earth, the quivering of millions of leaves echoing in its roots.
The forest consists of a single tree, known as Pando, with 47,000 stems (all with the same DNA) growing from a common root system on 100 acres (40 hectares) in Utah. Here Populus tremuloides has gradually grown to 6,000 metric tons of life.
And after nearly 12,000 years of life on Earth, this massive plant with tree-like trunks up to 24 meters (80 feet) high definitely has a lot to offer. And now the new recordings allow us to “hear” him like never before.
says Lance Odette, founder of Friends of Pando: “The results are enticing. Starting with the shroud, we see great potential for its use in science. The wind that is converted into vibration (sound) and transmitted to the root system can also reveal the inner workings of the vast Pando system. hidden hydraulic system in a non-destructive manner.”
Sound engineer Jeff Rice experimentally placed a microphone in a recess at the base of a branch and attached it to the roots of a tree, not expecting to hear much.
“Vibrations can also be picked up from surfaces such as roots, and when I put on the headphones, I was immediately stunned,” Rice said in a statement. “Something was happening. There was a faint sound.”
During a thunderstorm, this sound intensified – the device picked up a strange low sound.
“What you hear, I think, is the sound of millions of leaves in the forest shaking the tree and traveling through the branches to the ground,” Rice explained when he presented his recordings at the 184th Acoustic Society Committee meeting. America, as reported by The Guardian.
Hits were also taken from tapping a branch at 90 feet, although this sound was not heard in the air at that distance. This supports the theory that Pando’s root system is interconnected, but a proper experimental setup is required to keep the sound from propagating through the soil.
These common root systems are common in recurring colonial poplars, but pando’s size and age make it unique. Although aspens can reproduce by seed, they rarely grow out of them because pollination is rare because large aspen carriers usually have only one sex, cloned from the same individual.
She called her friends of Pando Rice as Artist-in-Residence to try to better understand this massive alien creature. Odette hopes to use sound to map Pando’s roots.
“Sounds are beautiful and interesting, but in practice, natural sounds can be used to document the state of the environment,” says Rice. “They reflect local biodiversity and serve as a basis for measuring changes in the environment.”
“Plans of friends,” says Odette. of Pando will use the collected data as the basis for additional studies on the movement of water, how arrays of branches are connected to each other, insect colonies and root depths, about which we know so little today.”
Unfortunately, this magnificent tree is in decline, and researchers are concerned that the days of Pando and all the forest life that supports it are numbered. Human activities, including the elimination and extermination of predators that support herbivore populations, are eating away at this ancient organism. All the more reason to tune into the Trembling Giant while he still has his secrets to share.”
Source: Science Alert
You must log in to post a comment.