Plants in the news: Plants communicating with YOU about their health?

[kisaac]

Your plants might be talking to you about their health and condition-

Here's a study suggesting they are communicating- we just aren't capable yet of hearing them- but other organisms (nearby plants, insects, animals, etc.) might be listening!

Highlights
•Plants emit ultrasonic airborne sounds when stressed
•The emitted sounds reveal plant type and condition
•Plant sounds can be detected and interpreted in a greenhouse setting
Summary
Stressed plants show... changes in color, smell, and shape. Yet, airborne sounds emitted by stressed plants have not been investigated before. Here we show that stressed plants emit airborne sounds that can be recorded from a distance and classified.
...
We developed machine learning models that succeeded in identifying the condition of the plants, including dehydration level and injury, based solely on the emitted sounds. These informative sounds may also be detectable by other organisms.


 https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00262-3

Link to study article, found in CELL, here:
Sounds emitted by plants under stress are airborne and informative

[Uli]

Hello Ken,

A very interesting article. I think there is probably much more communication between plants and maybe even between plants and animals than we humans are aware of. I have always wondered what is going on underground with the roots of so many plants growing densely together, for example in a forest or a meadow. As far as I know there is research at this level and communication and interaction has been proved. I also have in mind that plants communicate via more or less volatile odors, especially when stressed. Just think of the magnificent fragrance of lavender, thyme and rosemary in very hot weather..... Are we anthropocentric humans misinterpreting this as pleasant for us, not realizing it being a sign of stress for the plants?
more of a joke I just had to smile about the idea of all that unheard noise (for our human ears) emitted by the grass if a lawnmower starts mowing...... even worse if the lawn would be thirsty.

[CG100]

I was still at school when plant communication got reasonable coverage (so pre 1977).

They fixed lie detectors (basically conductivity sensors) to a single plant and a selection of people, some of who had been asked to rip a plant to pieces, well away from the study plant. The people were asked individually to stand close to the study plant and all that had destroyed a plant got a response, and one person who had not also elicited a response.

After some investigation, the "odd one out" was found to have cut his lawn earlier that day.

Or so the article claimed.

More recently, a TV programme showed broadly similar experiments with trees in woodland.