There seems to be a secret life to trees, unseen, complex, and fascinating; we humans are only now starting to understand.

According to recent scientific research, trees can “communicate” with each other through complex networks of fungi, called mycorrhizal networks. This “wood-wide-web” connects every single tree in the forest, and through it, water, nutrients, and even signals of distress or warning are exchanged between individuals of the same and different species.

This inter-tree connection beats the notion of competition and survival of the fittest that prevails in the natural world. Rather than competing for nutrients and sunshine, trees not only help their offspring, transferring sugar to the small saplings still unable to reach for the light but also help trees of other species in need. It is not uncommon to find stumps of trees felled long ago still green with chlorophyll. The only explanation is that these remnants continue to be fed by the trees around them, which act “as if reluctant to abandon their dead,” says Peter Wohlleben, author of the book The Hidden Life of Trees.

We used to think that forests were nothing more than a gathering of living plants competing for light and nutrients. Now we know that forests are complex communities of living beings, strongly interconnected and able to communicate with each other.

But what science still does not answer is even more fascinating and yet, haunting:

Whenever a tree is felled, can the forest feel its absence?