A leafless kauri tree stump in New Zealand remains alive by sharing water with neighbors through fused roots, according to a 2019 study.
Leafless kauri tree remains alive
A leafless kauri tree stump in a New Zealand forest has been found to remain alive despite lacking foliage, according to a study published in iScience in September 2019.Shared water network discovered
The research, conducted by two botanists from the University of Technology in Auckland, revealed that the stump receives water from neighboring trees through fused roots, forming a shared hydraulic circuit.Unusual survival mechanism
Normally, a tree without leaves cannot capture light or draw water from the ground, and such a tree remnant should have died. However, the stump's roots have merged with those of its neighbors, allowing water to flow through it based on pressure differences.Water flow observed
The researchers installed sap flow sensors on the stump and three neighboring kauri trees, revealing that water begins to flow through the stump at night and on rainy days when the neighboring trees slow down their transpiration.Kauri tree's size and significance
The stump, identified as Agathis australis, is among the largest trees on the planet and can exceed fifty meters in height. The study suggests that the root grafts likely formed when the stump still had leaves, enabling the shared network of water flow.
