A few months ago, we told you about the competitive nature of trees – how they typically have more roots than they really need to help them grow taller and obtain maximum amounts of sunlight, which in turn causes them to compete for space with other trees. We recently read an article on Science Daily which posed the question of whether or not trees in those types of environments can actually benefit from competitive interactions.
Emilie Tarroux and Annie DesRochers of the Université du Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada, recent published a paper in which their study of jack pine trees revealed that root grafting (which occurs when the tissues of the roots of two competing trees merge) may have some positive effects for trees.
According to Science Daily, their study revealed that trees that form root grafts tend to have better overall growth rates than those that don’t form root grafts. Additionally, the found that root grafting “could allow well-located trees to support trees that grow in drier or poorer environments.”
We thought this information was pretty interesting, considering that a tree’s competitive nature can lead to both positive and negative outcomes. You can learn more about this particular study by visiting Science Daily.
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Photo credit: Thegoddesstree.com