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The fact that Pando is a single organism is so confusing to me. I’m guessing there are more forests like Pando that are also a single organism? Is this somethin

The fact that Pando is a single organism is so confusing to me. I’m guessing there are more forests like Pando that are also a single organism? Is this something unique to this particular species?

edf13 2y ago
Just think of it as the root system - the "trees" are all sprouting from that.
torlok 2y ago
Black Locust can produce sprouts out of its root system, but from what I've read a single organism can cover up to 1ha, and the sprouts become independent eventually, so not exactly the same.
- jprd 2y ago
  They are also wicked with thorns when young. Someone planted a few in the 70s around here (Pine Bush reserve in Upstate NY), and they won't go away. They thrive in the pine bush and steal from the native environment. Prescribed burns help on the reserve bits, but on the private properties surrounding it is a nightmare. The amount of scars I have from these invasive trees' thorns is nuts.
nemo44x 2y ago
Sounds like rhizomes. These are not uncommon in plants. Bluegrass lawn for instance spreads this way. But yes I never imagined a similar thing with trees.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  I believe the difference is that rhizomes are special structures meant for reproduction, whereas with Pando and other quaking aspens, it's just normal tree roots that pop up near the surface and start growing into trees.
AlotOfReading 2y ago
Pretty much all plants have similar abilities to reproduce clonally as a byproduct of how they grow. Normally we don't count the individuals as a collective organism the same way we do Pando though.
- sidewndr46 2y ago
  I thought the scientific consensus was Pando does not actually reproduce anymore and is shrinking
  - AlotOfReading 2y ago
    I've never heard that. The aboveground stems of aspens live just over a century, so Pando would be dead very quickly (in relative terms) if that was true. I see some articles online that new shoots are struggling to survive because of herbivores though.
    - sidewndr46 2y ago
      apparently I had it wrong. The net size is decreasing over time, but new shoots do still emerge and mature into healthy structures
  - dreamcompiler 2y ago
    Forest Service says it's showing signs of decline due to "... a lack of regeneration, along with insects and disease." https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fishlake/home/?cid=STELPRDB5393641 https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fishlake/home/?cid=STELPRDB53...
- Buttons840 2y ago
  You seem to dismiss that Pando is uniquely special. The claim is that Pando is the oldest organism on Earth. Do you disagree? If so, what are some organisms that might be older?
  - bloak 2y ago
Gravityloss 2y ago
That also has made me wonder. If these are common but not generally mapped or surveyed, then it'd be likely this is not oldest etc...
- peterashford 2y ago
  Yeah, I've noticed over the years a lot of articles about oldest, tallest, <maximum other dimension> trees and they're always in the US. Strikes me that there's a likely bias there - the biggest results occur where you're doing the most looking
xattt 2y ago
The name Pando adds to the mystery of the organism. If it was called Fish Lake forest or something, it would be hard to draw any attention.
- space_oddity 2y ago
  Pando has an almost mythical ring to it
deleted 2y ago
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deleted 2y ago
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cg5280 2y ago
All quaking aspens can reproduce through their roots systems (as well as by seeds); you typically see them as clusters in the forests they reside instead of peppered around like other trees. Pando is unique because it can only reproduce asexually as well as its huge size. Most aspen colonies are not nearly as big.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  >Pando is unique because it can only reproduce asexually Is that true? I've seen it mentioned in non-scientific articles, but have never seen anything scientific saying so. I'm not sure why Pando would be different from any other member of its species.
dvh 2y ago
Japanese knotweed in Europe
Suppafly 2y ago
>The fact that Pando is a single organism is so confusing to me. All of the tree stalks are connected to the same roots, so it's all one big organism.

The fact that Pando is a single organism is so confusing to me. I’m guessing there are more forests like Pando that are also a single organism? Is this something unique to this particular species?

edf13 2y ago

Just think of it as the root system - the "trees" are all sprouting from that.

torlok 2y ago

Black Locust can produce sprouts out of its root system, but from what I've read a single organism can cover up to 1ha, and the sprouts become independent eventually, so not exactly the same.

jprd 2y ago
They are also wicked with thorns when young. Someone planted a few in the 70s around here (Pine Bush reserve in Upstate NY), and they won't go away. They thrive in the pine bush and steal from the native environment. Prescribed burns help on the reserve bits, but on the private properties surrounding it is a nightmare. The amount of scars I have from these invasive trees' thorns is nuts.

nemo44x 2y ago

Sounds like rhizomes. These are not uncommon in plants. Bluegrass lawn for instance spreads this way. But yes I never imagined a similar thing with trees.

Suppafly 2y ago
I believe the difference is that rhizomes are special structures meant for reproduction, whereas with Pando and other quaking aspens, it's just normal tree roots that pop up near the surface and start growing into trees.

AlotOfReading 2y ago

Pretty much all plants have similar abilities to reproduce clonally as a byproduct of how they grow. Normally we don't count the individuals as a collective organism the same way we do Pando though.

sidewndr46 2y ago
I thought the scientific consensus was Pando does not actually reproduce anymore and is shrinking
- AlotOfReading 2y ago
  I've never heard that. The aboveground stems of aspens live just over a century, so Pando would be dead very quickly (in relative terms) if that was true. I see some articles online that new shoots are struggling to survive because of herbivores though.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago
    apparently I had it wrong. The net size is decreasing over time, but new shoots do still emerge and mature into healthy structures
- dreamcompiler 2y ago
  Forest Service says it's showing signs of decline due to "... a lack of regeneration, along with insects and disease." https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fishlake/home/?cid=STELPRDB5393641 https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fishlake/home/?cid=STELPRDB53...
Buttons840 2y ago
You seem to dismiss that Pando is uniquely special. The claim is that Pando is the oldest organism on Earth. Do you disagree? If so, what are some organisms that might be older?
- bloak 2y ago

Gravityloss 2y ago

That also has made me wonder. If these are common but not generally mapped or surveyed, then it'd be likely this is not oldest etc...

peterashford 2y ago
Yeah, I've noticed over the years a lot of articles about oldest, tallest, <maximum other dimension> trees and they're always in the US. Strikes me that there's a likely bias there - the biggest results occur where you're doing the most looking

xattt 2y ago

The name Pando adds to the mystery of the organism. If it was called Fish Lake forest or something, it would be hard to draw any attention.

space_oddity 2y ago
Pando has an almost mythical ring to it

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

cg5280 2y ago

All quaking aspens can reproduce through their roots systems (as well as by seeds); you typically see them as clusters in the forests they reside instead of peppered around like other trees. Pando is unique because it can only reproduce asexually as well as its huge size. Most aspen colonies are not nearly as big.

Suppafly 2y ago
>Pando is unique because it can only reproduce asexually Is that true? I've seen it mentioned in non-scientific articles, but have never seen anything scientific saying so. I'm not sure why Pando would be different from any other member of its species.

dvh 2y ago

Japanese knotweed in Europe

Suppafly 2y ago

>The fact that Pando is a single organism is so confusing to me. All of the tree stalks are connected to the same roots, so it's all one big organism.