Trees Have A “Heartbeat,” Scientists Find Out

Aug 26, 2019 by apost team

Have you ever spent time alone in a forest at night? Did you have a creeping suspicion that the trees were moving and breathing? It might sound like something out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel, but it wasn't your imagination. There is mounting evidence that trees start moving their branches after the sun goes down, and it's due to a process that is similar to a human heartbeat.

Scientists and nature lovers alike have long been fascinated by trees. They live longer than any other organism on the planet, and they'll never die from old age. Every tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, and they even have a defense system that releases a chemical to deter hungry insects.

The world's oldest tree is a Great Basin Bristlecone pine tree that is more than 5,000 years old. It's located in California near another famous Great Basin Bristlecone pine tree called Methuselah. Methuselah is 4,851 years old. It's hard to imagine living 5,000 years when the longest-living animal on earth, the quahog clam, only lives around 500 years.

apost.com

It was long believed that trees were stationary creatures, but new studies show that they regularly raise and lower their branches. Researchers used scanners to measure the movements that trees make. They observed the trees raising and lowering their branches to pump water from the tree's roots to its leaves. The process is similar to the way a human heart pumps blood to other parts of the body.

Plants require water to complete the photosynthesis process. Photosynthesis allows trees and other plants to turn light energy into a form of chemical energy. We now know that trees have a heartbeat to help this process along.

In 2017, three Danish scientists investigated 21 different species of trees. They focused on the movements that the trees made, particularly at night. The study, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, used terrestrial laser scanning to record the tree's movements over time.

The scientists from Aarhus University were surprised to discover that trees move as much as one centimeter in phases that last for as long as six hours. The movement is related to the water pressure in the plant. It was previously believed that water flowed at a steady rate through plants. This study has led scientists all over the world to doubt their former assumption that trees distribute water through osmosis.

The same study uncovered that every species of tree has a unique cycle, Some trees have a sleep cycle. They lower their branches when they are resting and raise them when they are more active. Other trees are active throughout the entire night. The only thing that all of the trees in the study have in common is that they all have what scientists are calling a heartbeat.

The magnolia tree has the most active cycle. It raises and lowers its branches at least three times every night. Researchers believe it's because a magnolia tree requires more pressure for water to reach its highest branches.

Don't expect to observe a tree's heartbeat with the naked eye. The movements are so slight that they're almost imperceptible without the proper tools. However, András Zlinszky, one of the scientists who discovered the heartbeat, notes that it is possible to measure the way a tree changes in size and shape throughout the day. Zlinszky believes that trees change their shape due to changes in water pressure. These changes are caused by the plant's heartbeat.

It's incredible to think that trees have a complex heartbeat similar to our own. There are so many things we don't know about the world around us, and we're grateful to the scientists who devote their lives to helping us understand the universe.

Well, what do you think about this discovery? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to your friends who love science!