Ruth, thank you for this excellent piece. Whenever I read about the American chestnut I come away feeling a little blue. I understand there are pockets of chestnuts that are isolated from the blight but the overall loss is heartbreaking. So glad to read some positive developments in its restoration.
Thanks so much! I feel the same way, I’ve hiked in the woods before wondering what they looked like more than 100 years ago with all those chestnut trees. I see young trees every now and then with a mixture of joy but also sadness that they’ll probably not be around for many more years. It would be so cool to see them returned to our forests again.
It is quixotic to restore a chestnut to compete in the forest, the way it used to, when organisms that organize and collaborate are more fit for thriving than are those that compete. We are building a Miyawaki forest on a small plot of land in an abandoned ballfield as a pilot demonstration forest. 52 different native woody plants, trees and shrubs, 520 will be planted close together. Each plant species has its own suite of fungi and bacteria that work together in a single mycorrhizal network. When one plant cell puts an enzyme request into the “wood wide web”, it is transported by fungi to a galaxy of bacteria. One bacterium can produce what is requested, perhaps an enzyme to thicken cell walls from a munching pest. Released through the mycorrhizal network, the new enzyme is available to all plants. This is why a Miyawaki forest can grow ten times as fast with many times more soil build-up than a stand of one tree type. We are working in Attleboro, MA, where flood and stormwater management is a very expensive problem, as 10 inches of rain fell in a single day. Six inches of healthy soil can hold ten inches of rainwater. The sponge effect of the forest increases over time.
Trees also release bacteria and fungi into the air. Poplar trees are either male or female. Somehow, trees control which microbiota live on leaf surfaces, the phyllosphere. During drought stress, male and female poplars host different fungal and bacterial genera on their leaf surfaces. Male poplars have microbiota that are more resistant to phytopathogens that inhibit growth. Female poplars have microbiota with higher levels of defensive leaf chemicals that help maintain photosynthate for reproduction.
To restore the American Chestnut, the answer may not lie in the genes but in the full panoply of native woody plants that make up an oak-chestnut forest. It may take a forest to save a chestnut.
Interesting... I've heard about the Miyawaki method but have never seen it in action. Forests are amazingly diverse systems, and the role of mycorrhizae and bacteria in the soil is often underestimated for sure. It would be interesting to see what would happen if chestnuts were included in the seed mix.
Yes American chestnut saplings are being donated and are one of the 52 species. White ash and beech trees are also suffering in forests from infestations. Rather than giving up, we’re giving it a go.
It's amazing what we can restore with the right blend of technology and expertise. Harnessing new technologies to restore lost ecosystems provides hope for a better future for our planet. Great read!
Ruth, thank you for this excellent piece. Whenever I read about the American chestnut I come away feeling a little blue. I understand there are pockets of chestnuts that are isolated from the blight but the overall loss is heartbreaking. So glad to read some positive developments in its restoration.
Thanks so much! I feel the same way, I’ve hiked in the woods before wondering what they looked like more than 100 years ago with all those chestnut trees. I see young trees every now and then with a mixture of joy but also sadness that they’ll probably not be around for many more years. It would be so cool to see them returned to our forests again.
Ruth,
It is quixotic to restore a chestnut to compete in the forest, the way it used to, when organisms that organize and collaborate are more fit for thriving than are those that compete. We are building a Miyawaki forest on a small plot of land in an abandoned ballfield as a pilot demonstration forest. 52 different native woody plants, trees and shrubs, 520 will be planted close together. Each plant species has its own suite of fungi and bacteria that work together in a single mycorrhizal network. When one plant cell puts an enzyme request into the “wood wide web”, it is transported by fungi to a galaxy of bacteria. One bacterium can produce what is requested, perhaps an enzyme to thicken cell walls from a munching pest. Released through the mycorrhizal network, the new enzyme is available to all plants. This is why a Miyawaki forest can grow ten times as fast with many times more soil build-up than a stand of one tree type. We are working in Attleboro, MA, where flood and stormwater management is a very expensive problem, as 10 inches of rain fell in a single day. Six inches of healthy soil can hold ten inches of rainwater. The sponge effect of the forest increases over time.
Trees also release bacteria and fungi into the air. Poplar trees are either male or female. Somehow, trees control which microbiota live on leaf surfaces, the phyllosphere. During drought stress, male and female poplars host different fungal and bacterial genera on their leaf surfaces. Male poplars have microbiota that are more resistant to phytopathogens that inhibit growth. Female poplars have microbiota with higher levels of defensive leaf chemicals that help maintain photosynthate for reproduction.
To restore the American Chestnut, the answer may not lie in the genes but in the full panoply of native woody plants that make up an oak-chestnut forest. It may take a forest to save a chestnut.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/tpj.16283
Interesting... I've heard about the Miyawaki method but have never seen it in action. Forests are amazingly diverse systems, and the role of mycorrhizae and bacteria in the soil is often underestimated for sure. It would be interesting to see what would happen if chestnuts were included in the seed mix.
Yes American chestnut saplings are being donated and are one of the 52 species. White ash and beech trees are also suffering in forests from infestations. Rather than giving up, we’re giving it a go.
It's amazing what we can restore with the right blend of technology and expertise. Harnessing new technologies to restore lost ecosystems provides hope for a better future for our planet. Great read!
Thanks so much! It's great to see new technology used for conservation, we really can make a difference if we just invest the resources!
Cheers to that!
So wonderful that the chestnut can make a comeback with the right genes! 🤞🏼
Isn't it? I loved reading this study!
Very cool! Thanks…🙂👍
Thanks Jim!