cover of episode Forests on Forests

Forests on Forests

2022/2/4
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Karina Mifune
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Nalini Nadkarni
S
Suzanne Simard
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Suzanne Simard：森林地底下存在一个复杂的树根和真菌网络，连接着所有树木并帮助它们共享资源，尤其老树是这个网络的核心。 Nalini Nadkarni：森林冠层长期以来被科学界忽视，但实际上它充满了生命，是一个值得研究的领域。通过攀登树木，她发现了冠层中存在大量的土壤，其中含有各种动植物，与地面森林生态系统类似。大树的根系可以向上生长，延伸到冠层土壤中吸收营养，这是一种树木适应环境的策略。 Karina Mifune：森林冠层土壤富含营养物质，尤其是在地面土壤营养缺乏的时候，为植物提供了重要的资源。冠层土壤中的氮和磷含量远高于地面土壤，这对于植物的生长至关重要。她还发现，在冠层土壤中，甚至可以发现一些小型树木生长，形成一个独特的生态系统。 Suzanne Simard: 长期以来，人们对森林地下的复杂网络知之甚少，而这个网络对于树木之间的资源共享和信息传递至关重要。通过研究，我们发现最大的最古老的树木是这个网络的核心，它们连接着其他树木，并通过这个网络分享资源，维持森林生态系统的平衡。这个网络的发现改变了我们对森林生态系统的理解，也为我们保护森林提供了新的视角。 Nalini Nadkarni: 我从小就对树木充满好奇，并最终将我的研究方向定为森林冠层。在那个时代，几乎没有人研究森林冠层，因为人们认为那里没有什么值得研究的。然而，我的直觉告诉我，森林冠层蕴藏着丰富的秘密。通过攀登树木，我发现冠层中存在大量的土壤，其中含有各种动植物，这完全颠覆了人们对森林冠层的认知。我发现树木的根系可以向上生长，延伸到冠层土壤中吸收营养，这是一种树木适应环境的策略，也说明了树木的生存能力远超我们的想象。 Karina Mifune: 我的研究集中在森林冠层土壤的营养成分上。我发现，在春季生长季节，地面土壤的营养物质匮乏，而冠层土壤则富含氮和磷等营养物质。这说明冠层土壤为植物提供了重要的资源，尤其是在地面资源匮乏的情况下。此外，我还发现，在冠层土壤中，甚至可以发现一些小型树木生长，这形成了一种独特的生态系统，也进一步丰富了我们对森林冠层的理解。

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The episode introduces the largely unexplored world of the forest canopy, highlighting the discoveries of ecologists like Nalini Nadkarni and the surprising amount of life found in the treetops.

Shownotes Transcript

For much of history, tree canopies were pretty much completely ignored by science. It was as if researchers said collectively, "It's just going to be empty up there, and we've got our hands full studying the trees down here! So why bother?!"

But then, around the mid-1980s, a few ecologists around the world got curious and started making their way up into the treetops using any means necessary (ropes, cranes, hot air dirigibles) to document all they could find. It didn't take long for them to realize not only was the forest canopy not empty, it was absolutely filled to the brim with life. You've heard of treehouses? How about tree gardens?! 

This week we journey up into the sky and discover Forests above the forest. We learn about the secret powers of these sky gardens from ecologist Korena Mafune), and we follow Nalini Nadkarni) as she makes a ground-breaking discovery that changes how we understand what trees are capable of. 

P.S. This episode is a layer cake of arboreal surprises (including the reappearance of a certain retired host). 

A few visual tre(e)ats: 

We first learned about the magical world of the canopy from this beautiful video) from Michael Werner, Joe Hanson, and the PBS Overview team. It features Korena Mafune’s research up in the treetops, as well as the people who have dedicated their lives to saving what’s left of the old growth forests. We highly recommend checking it out! And, if you’re hankering to go climb a tree after this episode, you might enjoy browsing Hallie Bateman’s wonderfully illustrated guide) to the best climbing trees in NYC for a little inspiration.Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate).Radiolab is on YouTube!) Catch up with new episodes and hear classics from our archive. Plus, find other cool things we did in the past — like miniseries, music videos, short films and animations, behind-the-scenes features, Radiolab live shows, and more. Take a look, explore and subscribe!