From ancient oaks to walking yews: the story of Britain’s great trees, forests and avenues | Trees and forests | The Guardian
I am not exactly sure where my fascination and love of trees came from, but I do remember from a very young age seeing fallen acorns under a huge oak tree and being told that this tree had produced all of these acorns and that each one, like the one I had picked up and was holding in my hand, could grow into an oak tree and be hundreds of years old.
After spending a lifetime working with trees, they continue to amaze me with their ability to grow and adapt through decades, and in many cases centuries, of seasonal change.
Recently we’ve discovered their mechanism for communicating with each other below ground, which has become known as the wood wide web. The web is most active and thrives in areas of unworked woodlands (1) and forests, such as ancient woods, where the soil has been left undisturbed for centuries. This has led to an extensive underground network, linking trees in a forest together, young and old, helping them flourish as one giant superorganism. They share nutrients and even warn each other of attacks from pests.
