According to Peter Wohlleben, we fail to understand trees because “they live on a different time scale” from us. One of the world’s most venerable trees is a spruce in Sweden that is 9,500 years old. Wohlleben draws on decades of experience as a forester in Germany’s Eifel mountains for this eye-opening book. He starts with wise words for those entering a forest: “Slow down, breathe deep and look around.” Not only is the air cleaner under trees, as their leaves filter out harmful pollutants, but pine forests release defensive compounds that kill germs: “Trees disinfect their surroundings.” Trees also release oxygen, so a walk in the woods is “like taking a shower in oxygen”. Wohlleben’s aim is to let us see the trees and forests around us not just as “lumber factories” but as wondrous organisms, as complex as any animal. Trees are, for instance, “social beings”, communicating with each other through their roots, thanks to the fungal “wood wide web” that permeates the forest soil, even sharing nutrients in hard times. Wohlleben’s book will change your view of the wooded world.
• The Hidden Life of Trees – What they Feel, How they Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World is published by Harper Collins. To order a copy for £8.49 (RRP £9.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
