A well-known but amazingly adaptive behavior in trees is a phenomena known as Crown Shyness. To clarify, it is a phenomenon observed in some tree species, in which the crowns of fully stocked trees do not touch each other. Not so with crown shyness– the tops of the trees simply do not touch. When you peer into the canopy, it looks like each tree has a halo of uninterrupted sky around its crown.
Scientists have been discussing this phenomenon since the 1920s, proposing multiple potential reasons for why it occurs. For example, “crown shyness” could be a way that trees have evolved to prevent disease transmission, or ease of access for insects which would cause havoc if they had too abundant a source of food. It could also possibly ensure sharing of resources, thus maintaining the health of the forest crown. It could also be a way for the trees to prevent damage to their branches from tangling or wind gusts. Thus, the spacing in between the trees would provide air channels, reducing the overall stress on any one tree’s canopy from gale force winds.
However, these are just a few hypothesis on the purpose of crown shyness, although the phenomenon is not entirely understood yet. It seems that some trees have also been social distancing from one another but were doing so long before coronavirus started!
So, take a look at the images below and share them with your friends who are nature lovers!
1. Ah, mother nature, you never cease to amaze us.
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20. The light that crown shyness lets through in areas with dense canopy is beneficial to trees and other plants for photosynthesis
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