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Plants may appear silent, but plant communities are constantly communicating. Instead of sound or movement, plants exchange information through chemical scents released from their leaves, flowers, and roots.
Inside grasslands, many smells mix together and form an invisible language. Research now shows that plant diversity strongly shapes how rich and powerful this chemical language becomes.
Plant smells support living systems
Plants release volatile organic compounds that guide interactions with insects, microbes, and nearby plants.
Some smells attract pollinators such as bees. Other smells push away insects that eat leaves. Certain signals warn nearby plants about danger and prepare defenses in advance.
Plant odors also affect soil life. Microbes and fungi respond to chemical signals released above and below ground. Healthy communication supports nutrient cycling, plant growth, and ecosystem stability.
A research team led by Sybille Unsicker at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology explored how plant diversity changes odor release across whole plant communities and within individual plants.
“Understanding how a plant’s chemical signals change with plant diversity in its environment helps us to see the loss of biodiversity as more than just a loss of species. It also changes the chemical communication of an entire ecosystem,” said Unsicker.
- Author: Sanjana Gajbhiye, Earth.com
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