Lightning shocked him? This tree Kinda loves her

If you are stuck outside in the middle of a thunderbolt storm, the most common advice is to stay away from trees, which may attract lightning. Although lightning will definitely be very bad for you, new research indicates that some trees may attract unexpected benefits of electric shock.

A team of researchers revealed this Dipsyx Oleifera– A long tropical tree with a large crown and its homeland, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama – not only bear lightning strikes but actually benefit from it, and may have evolved to attract lightning. Their work was detailed in a study published on Wednesday in the New Phytologist magazine.

Under the leadership of Ivan Goura, an environmentalist in the forests at the Carrie Institute for Ecological System Studies, the team was inspired to investigate D. Oleifera ‘The relationship with lightning after the discovery of a unique sample in Panama in 2015. The tree survived the lightning with a little damage, despite the fact that the electric shock has killed a parasitic chromium interlocking in its branches, as well as dozens of trees in the vicinity of it.

“Seeing trees exposed to lightning, and they were fine, just blowing.” statement. Seven years later, researchers discovered this Some trees are more resistant to lightning strikes From others. Now, the team claims to be the first to prove that for some species, exposure to beating may be already beneficial.

Goura and his colleagues noticed the luxury of 93 trees in the Barro Colorado Nature in the center of Panama for two to six years after each of them was lightned, tracked death rates, the state of their trunks and direction, the presence of vineyards or Lianas, and the survival rate of the neighboring trees.

It was nine out of 93 trees D. OleiferaAnd all of them survived the beating of lightning without little harm. The electric shock reduced their parasitic chrome by 78 % and kill 9.2 of their neighboring trees. In a blatant contradiction, other types of trees were much worse – they lost 5.7 papers, 64 % of them died in two years.

In the words of Goura, “It is better to immediately to a Dipsyx Oleifera A tree should be hit more than that. “

Moreover, the team found that their notes are widely consistent with everyone D. Oleifera Trees. The species as a whole seem to have fewer injuries, and over the past four decades, their adjacent trees have been 48 % more likely than other trees in the forest. Thanks to drone technology, the researchers also noticed this D. Oleifera The trees generally stand out about 13 feet (four meters) on nearby trees – to a large extent because any long neighbors were removed by lightning.

A decrease in the infection of the dignity and long -stature neighbors give D. Oleifera More access to light and nutrients, and as a result, a competitive advantage over other types of trees. The researchers calculated this D. OleiferaLightning tolerance makes them more likely to produce offspring 14 times. A good thing, too, because according to the study, it may be likely to be injured by up to 68 % of the medium tree. One of the nine D. Oleifera The researchers have noticed lightning twice in half a decade.

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It is difficult to believe that with all these benefits, trees may do so on. In fact, Goura and his colleagues suggest that D. Oleifera It has evolved to attract lightning, similar to lightning rod.

In general, the study provides an insight into the role of lightning tolerance in biological diversity. This is especially important in the context of climate change, which may bring more lightning storms in certain areas, according to the statement. Moving forward, the researchers hope to understand the mechanisms behind the tree’s resistance to lightning better.

Story ethics: Do not stand under the trees during a thunderbolt storm – especially a D. Oleifera!