Spruce trees communicate during a solar eclipse

An international team of scientists, led by UWE Bristol Visiting Professor Alessandro Chiolerio, has discovered that Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) can anticipate and collectively respond to a solar eclipse, through subtle changes in their electrical activity—detectable up to 14 hours before the event.

This surprising discovery, published in Royal Society Open Science, is part of the pioneering “Cyberforest Experiment”, which combines tools from quantum field theory, complex systems science, and biological signal analysis to explore how forests behave as coordinated, living networks.

The study was carried out in the Dolomites' Val di Fiemme (Trento) at 2,000 meters above sea level, where trees were continuously monitored before, during, and after a partial solar eclipse. Researchers observed that the electrical signals emitted by the trees began to synchronise well before the eclipse—a response that suggests trees may have anticipatory sensing abilities and can respond collectively to major environmental changes.

To study these phenomena, the team used advanced mathematical tools—such as Shannon entropy, fractal dimension, and diversity indices—commonly applied in fields like neuroscience and ecology. These revealed that the trees shifted from irregular, multi-patterned electrical signals to a more stable and coordinated rhythm during the eclipse. This shift points to a form of emergent organisation within the forest, resembling behaviours seen in self-organising systems.

The researchers also measured how the trees’ electrical signals aligned with each other using cross-correlation functions, which showed that pairs of trees developed changing patterns of synchrony over time. These findings align with the concept of spontaneous symmetry breaking, borrowed from quantum field theory, where systems transition to a more ordered state in response to external influence.

“Our results suggest that forests don’t just function as collections of individual trees, but as interconnected biological networks capable of sophisticated coordination, a so called holobiont,” said Prof. Chiolerio.

The research team emphasized that, despite the biological differences between plants and animals, the ability to respond collectively and coherently to environmental stress appears to be a shared survival strategy across life forms—one that may help entire ecosystems remain resilient in uncertain conditions.

Beyond its scientific significance, this study offers new ways to understand forests: not just as static ecosystems, but as active, responsive entities with internal organisation. These insights could influence climate adaptation strategies, forest management, and even inspire bioinspired technologies that model nature’s intelligence—bridging ecology, physics, and next-generation AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things).

Future research will explore whether this synchronisation helps forests withstand environmental stresses, potentially informing climate adaptation strategies and forest conservation efforts.

For further insights, the full paper is available via Royal Society Publishing.