Why do these tropical trees love a thunderbolt
It seems that a kind of tropical trees is not limited to survival for lightning strikes, but also to flourish because of it
Exposure to beating from lightning is something that humans generally try to avoid. But for at least the types of tropical trees, this does not harm – and it may be a good thing.
Scientists have long believed that exposure to lightning could only have negative effects on trees. “The best scenario for you is that you are fine, and that the worst scenario of the worst cases is: you explode in a million bits,” says Ivan Goura, an environmentalist at the Carrie Institute for Ecological System Studies in New York. But after spending many years studying the effects of lightning on rainforests, Goura began to wonder whether the trees could not only survive this deadly event, but also get a kind of benefit from it.
To find out, he and his colleagues spent several years after the fate of 93 trees of various types in the rainforest in the center of Panama when they were lightned directly. Nine types known as almendro (Dipsyx OleiferaIt is the giant of a forest from Central and South America that can grow up to 165 feet. After hitting the trees, the researchers continued to monitor those that survived the shock, verify their general condition and noticed whether the lightning had killed the neighboring trees and any parasitic chrome growing on it.
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The results showed that Almendro trees were very resistant to lightning and were damaged by almost all other types of trees, which were severely damaged – 64 percent of the last trees died within two years of exposure. Some other large types of strikes also survived and may also have benefited, but lightning did not collide with enough of these types to be sure researchers.
Several trees that surrounded Almendros – which expand with the species of water and nutrients – were killed by lightning that spreads through their branches after it was hit D. Oleifera Trees. This leaves more resources and space for the latter. The lightning strikes on Almendros also reduced the average number of parasitic chrome on a tree by 78 percent, by killing them. These chrome climb over the trees to “steal” light.
A Dipsyx Oleifera Immediately after the lightning hit it in 2019 (top) for two years (bottom). The tree survived the strike with the least harm, and benefited from the presence of its parasitic chrome and removing the competitors by the strike.
Ivan Goura / Carrie Institute for Ecological System Studies
Provided with data on the frequency of lightning hitting and the rates of the survival of the trees after reaching a specific size, the team used computers models to estimate that the typical almendro is likely to have lightning about five times over the age of 300 years. After that, by running simulations using data about details such as how trees grow and multiply, the researchers showed that lightning strikes appear almost necessary for trees. “Without the benefits that strikes bring,” they will not live for a long time. “
The researchers also speculate that the concrete has evolved to him attract Lightning – or at least not to avoid it, as most other trees own. D. OleiferaA wide crown and long length, which enhances its chance to be hit, makes it a living lightning rod. It may resist damage by being more electrical connection than other trees surrounding it. Goura believes that similar capabilities to take advantage of lightning may be widespread across other species and forest types.
“The results of the study are completely new and contribute to our knowledge of the development of the plant,” says Alan Carroll, an environmentalist, a turmoil at the University of British Columbia, who has not participated in the research.