Video Shows Trees ‘Social Distancing’ By Leaving Small Gap Between Each Other

The video has amassed over 31,000 views on Twitter

While the year 2020 taught us a lot about ‘social distancing’, plants too have been keeping their distance from one another but were doing so long before we started. The phenomenon is known as ‘crown shyness’ wherein the crowns of trees do not touch each other, forming gaps, which help trees share resources and stay healthy, according to a report by National Geographic.

Now, Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Ramesh Pandey has shared a video on his official Twitter handle documenting the same phenomenon. The video shows trees performing social distancing.

Along with the video, the caption reads, “Canopy of trees specially of same species don’t touch each other. It’s a kind of social distancing, called crown shyness.”

Watch the video here:

Canopy of trees specially of same species don’t touch each other.

It’s a kind of social distancing, called crown shyness. pic.twitter.com/AnYcu9lhtw

— Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) January 18, 2023

The video was posted this morning and so far it has amassed over 31,000 views on Twitter. A user commented, “What could be nature’s strategy here….small gap to let elements come in for surface plant bushes creepers ?….caring for other species I mean….survival of all, not the fittest.”

Another user commented, “Amazing view Sir. It also indicates your deep research and study about nature and its behaviour. We all know your closeness to nature and this post is the repercussion of that phenomenon.”

The third user wrote, “It’s really calming to just stare at the canopies dancing in the wind.”

The scientists still don’t fully understand why the tops of trees so often refuse to touch, claims National Geographic report. Some scientists initially pursued a hypothesis that trees were simply failing to fill the spaces between their canopies due to a lack of light-a crucial resource for photosynthesis-where their foliage overlapped.

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