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'''''Finding the Mother Tree''''' is a memoir by the Canadian [[Forest ecology|forest ecologist]] [[Suzanne Simard]]. It has been reviewed in ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/books/review/finding-the-mother-tree-suzanne-simard.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Woman Who Looked at a Forest and Saw a Community|first=Jonathan C.|last=Slaught|date=May 3, 2021|access-date= |
'''''Finding the Mother Tree''''' is a memoir by the Canadian [[Forest ecology|forest ecologist]] [[Suzanne Simard]]. It has been reviewed in ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/books/review/finding-the-mother-tree-suzanne-simard.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519111404/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/books/review/finding-the-mother-tree-suzanne-simard.html|archive-date=2021-05-19|work=The New York Times|title=The Woman Who Looked at a Forest and Saw a Community|first=Jonathan C.|last=Slaught|date=May 3, 2021|access-date=December 5, 2023|url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'',<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/08/finding-the-mother-tree-by-suzanne-simard-review-a-journey-of-passion-and-introspection|work=The Guardian |title=Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard review – a journey of passion and introspection|first=Tiffany|last=Francis-Baker|date=May 8, 2021|access-date=November 16, 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-scientists-career-in-communion-with-trees/2021/05/20/382b7838-ac1b-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html|work=The Washington Post|title=A scientist's career in communion with trees|first=Kate|last=Brown|date=May 21, 2021|access-date=November 16, 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'',<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/finding-the-mother-tree-review-seeing-the-forest-11620397546|work=The Wall Street Journal|title='Finding the Mother Tree' Review: Seeing the Forest|first=Eugenia|last=Bone|date=May 7, 2021|access-date=November 16, 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> among other publications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forestry.ubc.ca/news/suzanne-simard-book-earns-international-acclaim/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003180902/https://forestry.ubc.ca/news/suzanne-simard-book-earns-international-acclaim/|archive-date=October 3, 2022|publisher=[[University of British Columbia]]|work=UBC Faculty of Forestry|title=Suzanne Simard's New Book Earns International Acclaim|date=May 20, 2021}}</ref> |
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In her memoir, Simard asserts that trees in forests are interdependent with fungi [[mycelium]]. Trees and other plants exchange sugars through their respective root and mycelial structures to share and trade [[micronutrient]]s. Simard presents her research that fungi physically and chemically connect with the root systems of multiple trees, across species, to create micronutrient pipelines of exchange within a forest community to share these nutrients as well as other molecules. This challenges the "prevailing theory that cooperation is of lesser importance than competition in evolution and ecology."<ref name="WSJ" /> |
In her memoir, Simard asserts that trees in forests are interdependent with fungi [[mycelium]]. Trees and other plants exchange sugars through their respective root and mycelial structures to share and trade [[micronutrient]]s. Simard presents her research that fungi physically and chemically connect with the root systems of multiple trees, across species, to create micronutrient pipelines of exchange within a forest community to share these nutrients as well as other molecules. This challenges the "prevailing theory that cooperation is of lesser importance than competition in evolution and ecology."<ref name="WSJ" /> |
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Simard asserts that healthy forests center on a matriarch tree that acts as a nexus of nutrient distribution that shares these nutrients among other trees of the same or different ages and species that are chemically and physically linked together by an expansive [[mycorrhizal network]].<ref name="NYT" /> These large-scale, old "mother trees" serve as hubs within the forest network, to deliver carbon to young seedlings through their roots underground in cooperation with fungi.<ref name="NYT-2022">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/science/trees-fungi-talking.html|work=The New York Times|title=Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, It's in Dispute.|first=Gabriel|last=Popkin|date=November 7, 2022|access-date= |
Simard asserts that healthy forests center on a matriarch tree that acts as a nexus of nutrient distribution that shares these nutrients among other trees of the same or different ages and species that are chemically and physically linked together by an expansive [[mycorrhizal network]].<ref name="NYT" /> These large-scale, old "mother trees" serve as hubs within the forest network, to deliver carbon to young seedlings through their roots underground in cooperation with fungi.<ref name="NYT-2022">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/science/trees-fungi-talking.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108080848/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/science/trees-fungi-talking.html|archive-date=2022-11-08|work=The New York Times|title=Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, It's in Dispute.|first=Gabriel|last=Popkin|date=November 7, 2022|access-date=December 4, 2023|url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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Simard faced ridicule and gendered attacks by male colleagues during her younger years; however her research became "critical to addressing problems in the timber industry" that led to reforms in sustainable forestry.<ref name="WSJ" /><ref name="NYT" /> |
Simard faced ridicule and gendered attacks by male colleagues during her younger years; however her research became "critical to addressing problems in the timber industry" that led to reforms in sustainable forestry.<ref name="WSJ" /><ref name="NYT" /> |
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Revision as of 04:16, 5 December 2023
 First edition (US) | |
| Author | Suzanne Simard |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Suzanne Simard |
| Cover artist | Photo: Paul Colangelo, jacket design: Kelly Blair |
| Language | English |
| Subject |
|
| Published | 2021
|
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type |
|
| Pages | 337 |
| ISBN | 978-0525656098 hardcover |
| Website | suzannesimard |
Finding the Mother Tree is a memoir by the Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard. It has been reviewed in The New York Times,[1] The Guardian,[2] The Washington Post,[3] The Wall Street Journal,[4] among other publications.[5]
In her memoir, Simard asserts that trees in forests are interdependent with fungi mycelium. Trees and other plants exchange sugars through their respective root and mycelial structures to share and trade micronutrients. Simard presents her research that fungi physically and chemically connect with the root systems of multiple trees, across species, to create micronutrient pipelines of exchange within a forest community to share these nutrients as well as other molecules. This challenges the "prevailing theory that cooperation is of lesser importance than competition in evolution and ecology."[4]
Simard asserts that healthy forests center on a matriarch tree that acts as a nexus of nutrient distribution that shares these nutrients among other trees of the same or different ages and species that are chemically and physically linked together by an expansive mycorrhizal network.[1] These large-scale, old "mother trees" serve as hubs within the forest network, to deliver carbon to young seedlings through their roots underground in cooperation with fungi.[6]
Simard faced ridicule and gendered attacks by male colleagues during her younger years; however her research became "critical to addressing problems in the timber industry" that led to reforms in sustainable forestry.[4][1]
Critical reception
Tiffany Francis-Baker, writing in The Guardian, compared the book to Robert Macfarlane's book Underland and Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees.[2]
The Wall Street Journal named Finding the Mother Tree one of the ten best books of the year; The Washington Post and Time magazine named it one of the best books of the year.[7]
Jonathan Slaght, reviewing the book for The New York Times, wrote that "(t)his book is a testament to Simard's skill as a science communicator... her arguments are buoyed by rigorous, decades-spanning research".[1]
Scientific reception
In a paper published in Trends in Plant Science, numerous botanical researchers criticized the claims made in the book, some of which are not based on scientific data and contradict established knowledge in many respects, in order to promote a misleading anthropomorphization of trees.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Slaught, Jonathan C. (May 3, 2021). "The Woman Who Looked at a Forest and Saw a Community". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Francis-Baker, Tiffany (May 8, 2021). "Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard review – a journey of passion and introspection". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Kate (May 21, 2021). "A scientist's career in communion with trees". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c Bone, Eugenia (May 7, 2021). "'Finding the Mother Tree' Review: Seeing the Forest". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ "Suzanne Simard's New Book Earns International Acclaim". UBC Faculty of Forestry. University of British Columbia. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022.
- ^ Popkin, Gabriel (November 7, 2022). "Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, It's in Dispute". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ^ Finding the Mother Tree. Penguin/Random House. Retrieved January 7, 2022.[failed verification]
- ^ Robinson, David G.; Ammer, Christian; Polle, Andrea; Bauhus, Jürgen; Aloni, Roni; Annighöfer, Peter; Baskin, Tobias I.; Blatt, Michael R.; Bolte, Andreas; Bugmann, Harald; Cohen, Jerry D.; Davies, Peter J.; Draguhn, Andreas; Hartmann, Henrik; Hasenauer, Hubert (September 19, 2023). "Mother trees, altruistic fungi, and the perils of plant personification". Trends in Plant Science. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2023.08.010. ISSN 1360-1385.
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