Simard, Suzanne: When the Forest Breathes

The trailblazing scientist who pioneered the concept of sophisticated communication between trees returns with a book that, drawing on rigorous science and neglected indigenous wisdom, places nature’s own cycles of renewal at the center of a powerful vision for the future of our forests With her bestselling book Finding the Mother Tree , forest ecologist Suzanne Simard advanced a revelatory new paradigm for the profound intelligence and interconnectedness of trees. Now, with When the Forest Breathes , she uncovers the ways that nature’s deep-rooted cycles of renewal can ensure the longevity of threatened ecosystems. Raised in a family of loggers committed to sensible forest stewardship, Simard has watched timber companies plunder the forest for profit. Ignoring Indigenous communities’ abundant knowledge of the natural world and its rich complexities, they leave in their wake an environment more prone to wildfire, water crisis, and plant and animal life extinction. But Simard’s research has the potential to chart a new course. The forest, she reveals, is a symphony of finely honed cycles of regeneration—from mushrooms breaking down logs to dying elder trees passing their genetic knowledge to younger ones—that hold the key to protecting our forests from the threats of logging and climate change. Leading one of the most ambitious climate research initiatives ever undertaken, Simard and her team examine how various human interventions—particularly loggers’ destruction of the overstory‘s mother trees—affect new growth and fire risk in her native British Columbia. Working closely with local Indigenous communities, whose models of responsible forest stewardship have been largely dismissed, they unearth groundbreaking findings that, if implemented, could ensure the survival of these ecosystems for generations to come. As Simard considers how older living things facilitate the conditions for new growth to flourish, she faces parallel rhythms of loss and regeneration in her own life, watching her two daughters grow into young women and savoring her final days with her ailing mother. With wisdom and warmth, she guides us to all that nature has to teach us about adaptability, resilience, and community. When the Forest Breathes is an emboldening declaration that when we take responsible steps, reversing the effects of climate change is within reach. In elegant prose teeming with reverence for the natural world, Simard shares with all of us the gift of her ingenuity, commitment, and optimism.