GAra with a hat from Indiana Jones. He crossed the Atlantic, in flight and sea, completely alone. The BBC nicknamed him the “Sherlock Holmes of nature”. Tristan Gooley, English writer and member of the Royal Geographical Societyhas been having a mission for twenty years: teach people to orient themselves in a forest or foresteven when the path and the GPS is lost or the mobile phone do not work.
You don’t need to carry the pebbles behind Hansel and Gretel in the fairy tale of the Grimm brothers. The trees themselves speak to us: it is enough to understand the signs that send us.
As he tells in his book Read the trees, Published by others. How did you start to decipher the signs that trees give us?
I fell in love with the natural orientation as a boy, before I knew this term. But I discovered at twenty years that a big trip is no longer interesting. So I started making shorter trips using nature as a guide and I discovered that trees were the best maps. They always helped me find the way.
The explorer Tristan Gooley, 52 years old, with his “signature”,
A hat at the Indiana Jones. (IPa/Alamy)
The ability to grasp the signs of nature dates back to when humans lived more closely with the environment, distinguishing in the footsteps, the sun and the stars, the weather. Living in cities made us lose this knowledge. Could rediscover it to make us feel better?
Absolutely yes. It is obvious that our lifestyle is very different from that of our ancestors of 10 thousand years ago, but also 500 years ago. Technology has changed how much the brain is called to do every day, but not our head. We evolved to grasp the signs that nature gives us. My personal theory is that this makes us feel connected by strengthening our sense of well-being, mood and energy.
Which trees are social and love to be in a group, and which are lonely pioneers instead? What are the pros and cons?
All trees must specialize to stay in a certain habitat to survive. I call them “turtle trees” and “hare trees”. The former are slow to grow: among them, beech trees, chestnuts, oaks. Others such as birch, hawthorn and many willows have a different approach: they grow quickly taking advantage of the clearings or margins of the forest. Their presence helps us to create a map, telling us that we are at the limit of the forest. It is advantageous to be part of the hare trees, or of these pioneer species because you can live away from others and receive a lot of light. The downside, however, is to be more at the mercy of the elements. We take the case of the birch, who need a lot of light and staying alone receive it, but are not protected by the wind, snow, ice and animals. That’s why the birch bark is very resistant. The beech trees, on the other hand, are gregari, grow with other beech trees and their cortex is smooth, because they are protected by their neighbors.
Read the trees, by Tristan Gooley. Others. In the book, the author mixes naturalistic observations and curious digressions.
Climate change forces trees to resist extreme events. Which can survive better? Is it a matter of roots or position in the woods?
The higher a tree, the more it is in the power of the strength of the wind. But if it is located inside a forest, it could be protected by the other trees. We tend to think that the plants at the edges of the forest are more exposed to the wind, but if you observe them you will see that they are lower. They have larger trunks and stronger roots. It is the solution they found to survive storms. Instead, it is the most central trees in the woods – less accustomed to the fury of the winds – who have to fight to survive in case of a stronger storm than usual. Climate change also affects the winds. In northern Europe, usually there are no strong winds from the North East, so the trees at the edge of the forest in that direction have no problems. So if a strong storm came from the North East, it could do more damage.
When we walk a path in the woods on foot or by mountain bike, we often trample the soil in which the roots of a tree are located. Do we damage it?
Yes, it is not good for the tree. The roots have two functions. The first is structural: keep the plant standing and anchor it to the ground so that it can resist the weather. The second is to provide water and nutrients to the tree. These two tasks are carried out by different parts of the roots. Look at the hair of a tree, towards where the branches end: when it rains, the water descends to the extreme limit of the roots in the ground, along what is called the “drip line”. The roots found at that point are the most delicate, so if we pass the branches on that side on top they will start to die and the entire tree will be affected. On the contrary, the roots closest to the trunk are less sensitive. That’s why ancient paths often pass near the plants, and if we leave them by walking 20 meters further we can do more damage than we imagine.
Why do the leaves have different shapes?
Each single part of the tree reflects its strategy. The conifers, for example, have more resistant needles than the broader leaves, and are able to face cold, the winds and dehydration. Oborn shape, it tells us something. If we see a really large leaf, the plant will not be high and in a particularly exposed place, but in a shaded and sheltered position.
Trees also have their flowers. Why are some are not very visible, for example those of the conifers, and others are showy and fragrant?
In all plants, flowers offer us a clue on reproductive strategy and pollination. Trees polluted by the wind, or anemophytes – a category in which most conifers fall – do not need to attract insects by showing off shower flowers. Where we see obvious flowers, the goal is to attract pollinating insects.
How does a tree hold unwanted enemies away?
First of all, he protects himself with the cortex. But if an animal manages to penetrate it, secrete chemicals such as tannins that make it less appetizing.
A tip to start looking at the forest with different eyes.
The forest and every single tree try to whisper a clue to us. For example, where the North and the South are located. There are larger and longer branches in a south direction. But there are at least twenty ways to orient ourselves with trees. Plants change near the water, whether it is a river, a lake or a pond. Even if we do not know their names, when there is water nearby, in the vegetation we see willows and honors. We learn to recognize them, as our ancestors did and how indigenous populations do. It is a way to create your own map using trees.
What emotions does it conveys to walk in a forest?
We say that we have to connect with nature, immerse ourselves in it, but when people try and nothing happens to us, they think they have made a mistake. My idea is that our brain, compared to animals, has a higher ability to solve enigmas and identify clues. It is no coincidence that we like the mysteries of the yellows, the Sudoku and the crusades. So looking for signs and clues in a forest is a way of feeling something, because our brain has fun.
There is a lot of talk about vegetable intelligence. She is not a researcher, but spends a lot of time among the trees. What do you think?
I can’t respond shortly, because we should define the concept of intelligence. I believe that evolution has allowed the trees to do things that are truly cunning. But this would be a reasoning that anthropomorphizes them. I would then put it this way: the trees realize things obtaining brilliant results. But if they are intelligent or not, it is a debate that will go on for at least a hundred years.
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