Nursery effect study shows trees remember their roots

Genetically identical forest trees raised in different environments react differently when exposed to drought conditions, a study has shown.

The authors have said it is the first scientific critique of the “nursery effect”, in which trees develop certain profiles based on where they are grown.

The team took the same varieties of trees from different areas and measured how their responses to drought varied.

The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“The nursery effect is something that had been noted in an anecdotal fashion by foresters and gardeners,” explained co-author Malcolm Campbell from the University of Toronto.

The team found that it had not be reported or documented in any detail within scientific journals, yet it was a concept that was being widely used.