06-05-2025
Scientists Discover Trees Communicate Like Tolkien's Ents During Eclipse: 'Wisdom of Age'
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Trees can communicate with one another during an eclipse, and older trees appear to be able to provide younger trees with important information, a new study found.
An international study revealed that trees, particularly older ones, display a coordinated, anticipatory response to solar eclipses—signaling to each other with bioelectrical pulses in a manner likened to J.R.R. Tolkien's sentient Ents from his classic The Lord of the Rings series.
'A new layer of complexity'
Researchers monitored multiple spruce trees in the Dolomites region of Italy during the October 2022 solar eclipse using ruggedized, low-power CyberTree devices.
The sensors captured real-time data, gathering the full suite of a tree's bioelectrical signals.
What they observed was startling: trees not only reacted to the eclipse, but began adjusting their internal electrical activity hours before the celestial event.
Stock image: A forest of trees.
Stock image: A forest of trees.
Photo by Mr_Twister / Getty Images
"This study illustrates the anticipatory and synchronized responses we observed are key to understanding how forests communicate and adapt, revealing a new layer of complexity in plant behavior," study author Monica Gagliano from Southern Cross University, Australia said in a press release.
"Basically, we are watching the famous 'wood wide web' in action!"
Older Trees Remember
Older trees showed the strongest early responses.
The ancient trees exhibited shifts in entropy and complexity—markers of active internal processes—well before the Moon's shadow crossed their canopy.
The phenomenon was described by scientists as a kind of "forest-wide synchrony," where trees operated not as isolated organisms, but as a coordinated community.
The anticipatory behavior wasn't triggered by changes in light or temperature—variables that remained largely unchanged until the eclipse.
Instead, the researchers suggest trees may use gravitational cues linked to the Sun-Moon-Earth alignment to "sense" the eclipse in advance.
"Our study bridges the gap between quantum physics and ecology, proposing that forests can be viewed through the lens of quantum field interactions," study author Alessandro Chiolerio told Newsweek in an email.
"We highlight the subtle and profound ways in which living systems are interconnected, not just biologically, but also physically and energetically."
'Huge step forward'
The study's theoretical framework, grounded in quantum field theory, supports the idea of entanglement among trees—suggesting that bioelectrical signals are phase-synchronized across individuals without requiring physical exchanges through air or soil.
During the eclipse, these synchronized electrical rhythms intensified and later settled into a new, more ordered pattern.
The researchers said that the findings show how important it is to make sure that older forests continue to thrive.
Chiolerio told Newsweek that he is leading a research proposal that will be submitted to the European Innovation Council.
"Details cannot be made public, but it will be a huge step forward, if funded," he said.
