Natures wonders: conifers fight herbivores (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, March 02, 2023, 14:45 (630 days ago) @ David Turell

That lovely pine odor fights:

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/pine-trees-fragrances-help-neighbors-battle-...

"Rooted to the spot, trees face deathly attacks from pests, people, and even other plants without the possibility of escape. Instead, they fend off assailants with physical and chemical defenses. With insect attacks in particular, trees emit chemical compounds that, in addition to rebuffing the nibbling beast, can alert nearby predators to the presence of a tasty snack.

"These herbivory-induced aromas can also warn nearby trees of impending danger, granting them the chance to steel themselves against an assault. However, this phenomenon is understudied in pines and other conifers, a group that includes many commercially and ecologically important species. Now, a group of Finnish researchers are endeavoring to rectify that, and they have produced robust evidence of conifers “priming” each other against beetle attacks using chemical signals.

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"The herbivores in this study were large pine weevils (Hylobius abietis L.), common pests in European coniferous forests that feed on tree bark and kill young seedlings. Clearcutting of forests amplifies the beetles’ impact; weevils reproduce in the newly created stumps and ravage the seedlings that grow in their place.

"However, conifers aren’t completely defenseless against these dime-sized invaders. Much like kitchen herbs whose scent becomes more potent when crushed or broken apart, Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) and other trees emit fragrant molecules when herbivores chew through their bark. These molecules, known as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), repel the herbivore and attract its predators.

"Additionally, Hao Yu, a plant ecophysiologist at the University of Eastern Finland, knew that some tree species use these volatile compounds to communicate with one another, allowing for neighbors of a besieged plant to increase their defenses against whatever animal is attacking them. However, this behavior had never been studied in conifers, which are famous for their belowground networks of fungal communication."

Comment: in this dog-eat-dog world it's about food and defenses. It is still an issue of adaptability within God-given capacity or direct God design.