第1608期:Clever trees

There’s nothing better than a walk in the countryside for lifting our spirits. Connecting with nature has been proven to help our mental health. For some, the best tonic is to stroll through a forest, but as we admire the trees that surround us, it’s worth knowing these trees are doing more than just being nice things to look at.

没有什么比在乡间散步更能振奋我们的精神了。事实证明，与大自然联系有助于我们的心理健康。对一些人来说，最好的滋补品是在森林中漫步，但当我们欣赏我们周围的树木时，值得知道这些树木不仅仅是为了好看。

We’re already aware of the healing properties of trees – they produce oxygen and clean the air we breathe by absorbing about a quarter of all human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. Deforestation isn’t helping with this which is why so many people want to save them. But there’s more to these impressive forms of vegetation than we might think. Researchers have discovered evidence that proves they are actually intelligent.

我们已经意识到树木的愈合特性——它们通过吸收大约四分之一的人为二氧化碳排放来产生氧气并清洁我们呼吸的空气。砍伐森林无济于事，这就是为什么这么多人想要拯救它们的原因。但这些令人印象深刻的植被形式远比我们想象的要多。研究人员发现了证明他们实际上很聪明的证据。

It’s thought that trees talk and share resources right under our feet, using a fungal network. Under the ground are tree roots, and mingling among them, along with bacteria, are thousands of superfine threads of fungi, known as hyphae. And research has shown that they are all interconnected. They can help each other by sharing nutrients, and they can even warn of approaching threats. Scientists say it’s like the trees are talking to one another.

人们认为树木使用真菌网络在我们脚下交谈和共享资源。地下是树根，与细菌一起混在其中的是成千上万的超细真菌丝，称为菌丝。研究表明，它们都是相互关联的。他们可以通过分享营养来互相帮助，甚至可以警告即将到来的威胁。科学家们说，这就像树木在互相交谈。

Ecologist Suzanne Simard has called this network the Wood Wide Web. She discovered that parent trees use this network to help their offspring. Speaking to the BBC, she said: “We found that the parent trees would favour those seedlings that were of their own kin versus the strangers” by sending them more nutrients. She also found that trees are smart enough to change their behaviour and have managed to adapt and survive in a changing environment.

生态学家 Suzanne Simard 将这个网络称为 Wood Wide Web。她发现父树使用这个网络来帮助他们的后代。她在接受 BBC 采访时说：“我们发现，与陌生人相比，母树会偏爱那些属于自己亲属的幼苗”，因为它们会为它们提供更多的营养。她还发现树木足够聪明，可以改变它们的行为，并设法在不断变化的环境中适应和生存。

So it seems trees really are the stars of our natural world, and with around three trillion of them on our planet, it’s time to show them some respect if we want them to flourish.

因此，树木似乎真的是我们自然世界的明星，我们的星球上大约有 3 万亿棵树，如果我们想让它们茁壮成长，是时候向它们表示一些尊重了。

词汇表

countryside 郊外，乡下
lift one’s spirits 振奋精神
tonic 使人精神振作的事情
forest 森林
healing properties 治疗功效
oxygen 氧气
carbon dioxide emissions 二氧化碳排放
deforestation 毁林，大面积砍伐森林
vegetation 植被，植物
resources 资源
fungal network 真菌网络
tree root 树根
bacteria 细菌
fungi 真菌，真菌类植物
hyphae 菌丝
nutrient 养分，营养物
Wood Wide Web “树联网”
offspring 后代，产物
seedling 幼苗
kin 同族，亲戚
flourish 茁壮成长