The networked beauty of forests - Suzanne Simard

Deforestation causes more greenhouse gas emissions than all trains, planes and automobiles combined. What can we do to change this contributor to global warming? Suzanne Simard examines how the complex, symbiotic networks of our forests mimic our own neural and social networks -- and how those connections might make all the difference.

Talk by Suzanne Simard.

[ArtVandelay]

Awe-inspiring talk, you can tell how much she loves her work - and nature.

[samkneller]

What amazing networks formed by overground trees and underground fungi and the symbiotic exchange between the two for the benefit of both.

In fact these networks are studied to find out the shortest and best ways, most economic ways, to serve the furthest away trees/fungi and how to do so if main nodes are down. Man does learn from nature.

[badoocee]

The chemical transfer of communication and networking that the trees perform with other parts of its environment are pretty amazing.

[artsyamber]

I found out my online school still uses this video from my little sister. This brings back memories.

[SystemFreaKk]

That some species of fungi are parasitic and not mutualistic does not undermine the abundance of species of fungi and plant-life which *are* engaged in a complex mutualism, much of which we depend upon for our global environment to be livable at all. Even the parasitic species inhabit their own ecological niche, and were they to disappear, despite their visible damage to certain species w/in that same local environment, could induce a trophic cascade that threatens the sustainability of the whole of the local ecosystem itself. She certainly left out much of the background science, which would have been helpful communicating her point (though there *were* time constraints), as well as oversimplifying some conceptual errors with equating the Earth's fungal network to our brain activity, but there really is excessive deforestation occurring, and it really *is* amazing that the beauty and complexity of these forest systems, which it took the Earth billions of years to form and upon which we very much depend, is being deincentivized and destroyed in an instant so readily by industry-first ideologies. Her emotional charge here, despite being a scientist, is not misplaced.

[MarkARhodie]

She's got a lot of passion and enthusiasm to educate people on this.

[susanhartley]

Doing our best here in North west Tasmania. See La Poinya forest defence.

[kunucontent]

Save our world with your wisdom. thank so much

[Asianoyinbo]

chillin in her class watching her ted talk

[lindareese]

Thank you ! thank you ! thank you thank you !

[franciscomagana]

Interesting topic. Her audience seem to include children so that explains much of her presentation but i would have wanted just a little bit more explanation of the science rather than social networks. 

[tanveerchowdhury]

Thanks to Suzanne Simard. Thanks to Ted-Ed for the posts.

[professormaxtrinity]

Hemp can replace lumber in every arena. Grow hemp and allow the forests to recover.

[xafania]

The forests really can defend themselves but in other time-dimensions from the people ones. And in the other sense-dimensions from the people ones.

[Celeste-in-Oz]

nice concept "wired for healing" ;)

[gethinjones]

Anyone reminded of the trees in Avatar?

[josruizmontero]

We´re wired for healing, hubs wiring, wired as you do. Thank you.

[bellamilner]

Reduce the rate of consumption to reduce the rate of deforestation!

[NachoJoshas]

Great speech! The only thing I disagree is the naiff way she thinks we can protect forests. 

[kowalityjesus]

We need to build molten salt nuclear rectors en masse pronto.