Art of survival of a natural forest

THE art of survival of a natural forest is not so different from our human world. Lean on me!

- BY SURYA VISHWA

This is what some trees seem to tell each other in natural forests devoid of human interference. Trees like to keep things simple. They don’t bother to grow large sturdy trunks if they can just cuddle up with their neighbours. Nature is as strict with trees who don’t toe the line, just as karma is with humans who err. Tree karma manifests as splits in wood, in its bark and in the life sustaining layer under the bark, the extremely sensitive layer referred to as cambium.

Like in the human world, trees also realise that being alive is a battle for resources. Amidst the kindness and sharing, there are mini wars fought every day in a natural forests; for water, ground space and sunlight. The powerful fungi can be described as the mediators in forest wars; conciliating and acting as the security forces of the forest; exacting certain costs at most times for their services. For a fee (the exchange of the rich sugary food produced by trees) fungi casts out heavy metals (more harmful to the fungi than the trees) and fight fellow tree intruding fungi and bacteria.

The mighty oak of Europe can be said to have bipolar disorder; they display two distinct personalities; very weak and very strong. There is more life pulsating beneath our feet totalling to multiple planet populations. In a fistful of natural forest soil there thrives more lifeforms than the human populace of this planet.

Mystery of the natural world

Spaces that we callnatural forests