The Wood Wide Web: The Forest Discovery That Sparked a Backlash

About this episode

Suzanne Simard discusses her groundbreaking work on the 'wood wide web' and the need for updated forestry practices.

Episode 363 Suzanne Simard is a world-renowned forest ecologist who shot to stardom with her first book Finding the Mother Tree. It tells the story of her life’s work, showing trees and plants are connected through fungal networks, demonstrating a kind of wisdom and intelligence. Now, with the release of her latest book When the Forest Breathes, she’s keen to highlight the destructive and extractive forestry practices of the modern age - and why Western science needs an update. Rowan Hooper sits down with Simard under the famous Lucombe Oak in London’s Kew Gardens. Together they explore the concept of the ‘wood wide web’, the name given to her breakthrough work showing communication between forest trees via an underground fungal network. They discuss the scientific backlash that came when she popularised this work and how it all came at a particularly difficult time in her life. And they explore her time spent with indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest. As Simard aims to make us view forest ecosystems in a more holistic and regenerative way - what will it take to truly change the industry?To read more stories like this, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about…

People in this episode

Host: Rowan Hooper

Guest: Suzanne Simard

Topics covered

• forest ecology
• fungal networks
• sustainable forestry
• indigenous knowledge
• scientific backlash
• environmental science

Keywords

• wood wide web
• forest ecosystems
• fungal communication
• sustainable practices
• ecological wisdom
• forestry practices
• indigenous peoples

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Scientist

Books & works: Finding the Mother Tree, When the Forest Breathes

Places: London, Kew Gardens, Amazon rainforest

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