Phytobiography: An approach to “tree time” and “long-life learning”

Abstract

Trees are among the most long-lived organisms on earth. Study of their life cycle often involves statistical approaches that neglect individual life histories. This paper argues for a biographical approach, based on an analysis of individual growth form and structure that complements quantitative approaches in much the same way that individual human biographies complement the grand narratives of history. A “phytobiographical” approach to mature trees toppled during the “great storm” of 1987 provides the focus of discussion. Many of these trees, if left undisturbed, thrive as so-called phoenix trees. Each mature tree, through its growth form, its scars and relationship to, and competition with, other trees reveals its life history. This paper focuses on three individual trees. Their biographies reveal how they reacted to the damage wrought by the Great Storm and their subsequent struggle to maintain their ecological integrity. As with individual human histories, this detail helps to reveal the reality often hidden or lost in grand narratives, and provides lessons for long-life learning (thinking in “tree time”) as well as life-long learning, a concept currently popular in educational circles.