Peter Wohlleben

Peter Wohlleben
Born Bonn
Occupation Forester, author
Notable work The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How they Communicate

Peter Wohlleben born in Bonn, 1964, is a German forester and author who writes on ecological themes in popular language.[1] After graduation from forestry school in Rottenburg am Neckar, he took up a job as a government wood ranger in the Rhineland-Palatinate in 1987. As he grew more familiar with the woodlands he was overseeing, he became disenchanted due to the damage caused by the techniques and technologies he was expected to employ, including the felling of mature trees and the use of insecticides.[2]

In his 2015 book about natural forests, Das geheime Leben der Bäume:Was sie fühlen, wie sie kommunizieren - die Entdeckung einer verborgenen Welt,[3] he takes the perspective of the trees, much as Jacques Cousteau took the perspective of the inhabitants of the oceans. He uses storytelling to convey information from the scientific literature in a manner that echoes Nikko Tinbergen's writing on animals, or Carl Sagan's writing and public presentations about astronomy. Among other phenomena, this book introduces for a popular audience the "Wood-Wide Web", through which nutrition and signals are exchanged among trees.

Professionally, Wohlleben manages a beech forest on behalf of the municipality of Hümmel, Germany.[4] He has offered regular tours of local forests; in 2017 one is programmed for August based on The Hidden Life of Trees.[5]

Publications and news coverage

Wohlleben began publishing books about his views on ecology and forest management in 2007. The appearance of his Das geheime Leben der Bäume through Random House's Ludwig imprint led to profiles[6][7] and reviews[8] in all the major German newspapers, including skeptical pieces in the business press.[9][10] The book was featured in a cover story in Der Spiegel and appeared on the Spiegel bestseller list.[11]

An English translation was published in September, 2016 under the title The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How they Communicate with a foreword by Tim Flannery, published in partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.[12] Translations into other languages are in progress.[13]

The New York Times ran a profile of Wohlleben in January, 2016.[14] The article describes him as a forester who devotes his professional efforts to preserving the forest rather than managing it for lumber production.

The documentary film Intelligent Trees[15] features several of Wohlleben's observations. It portrays him alongside Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, whose research supports most of Wohlleben's observations about communication among trees.

References

  1. ↑ Wohlleben, Peter. "Peter Wohlleben - Bücher". Förster & Autor Peter Wohlleben (in German). Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Mark Brown (2017-05-27). "Trees talk to each other, have sex and look after their young, says author | Environment". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  3. ↑ Wohlleben, Peter (2015). Das geheime Leben der Bäume (in German). München: Ludwig. ISBN 978-3-453-28067-0.
  4. ↑ Leslie, André; Taube, Friedel (November 19, 2013). "Protecting Germany's old forests". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Two-hour hike with Peter Wohlleben 7 August 2017". Waldakademie Hümmel. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ Weinl, Volker (July 25, 2015). "Können Bäume wirklich miteinander reden?" [Can Trees really converse with each other?] (in German). Bild GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Heidtmann, Jan (November 20, 2015). "Der Baumflüsterer" [The Tree Whisperer]. Sueddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Freund, Wielland (July 4, 2015). "Aus dem Bäumischen von Peter Wohlleben" (in German). WeltN24 GmbH. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. ↑ zu Guttenberg, Philipp (December 23, 2015). "Sehnsuchtsort Wald" [The Woods: a place of yearning]. Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Mühl, Stephanie (November 29, 2015). "Bäume sind so tolle Lebewesen" [Trees are such fantastic creatures] (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Maus, Stephan (17 October 2015). "Dieser Rebell mischt den deutschen Wald auf" [This rebel presents a new view of the German forest] (in German). stern.de GmbH. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Wohlleben, Peter (September 2016). The Hidden Life of Trees. Vancouver, Canada: Greystone. ISBN 978-1-771-64248-4.
  13. ↑ Wohlleben, Peter. "Peter Wohlleben - English Home Page". Förster & Autor Peter Wohlleben. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  14. ↑ McGrane, Sally (January 29, 2016). "German Forest Ranger Finds That Trees Have Social Networks, Too". New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Intelligent Trees - The Documentary". Retrieved February 9, 2017.
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