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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 21, 2026

A Venturi Effect Can Help Cure Our Trees
05:26

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Why are so many trees hollow?

Graeme D Ruxton1

  • 1School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK gr41@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Biology Letters
|November 14, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Tree trunk rot may not be adaptive nutrient cycling. Instead, it may occur because defending interior wood is costly and provides little benefit to the tree. This theory can be tested empirically.

Keywords:
herbivoryplant defencestermiteswood

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Plant Biology
  • Forest Science

Background:

  • Many trees exhibit internal trunk decay or hollowness.
  • Previous hypotheses suggest this decay is adaptive, facilitating nutrient cycling.
  • Nutrient release from decaying wood supports tree growth via root uptake.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose an alternative explanation for internal wood decay in trees.
  • To challenge the adaptive nutrient cycling hypothesis.
  • To present a cost-benefit analysis of wood defense.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical ecological modeling.
  • Economic analysis of defense investment.
  • Discussion of empirical testing strategies.

Main Results:

  • Internal wood loss may be non-adaptive.
  • The cost of chemical defense for interior wood outweighs its benefits.
  • Wood decay occurs due to low investment in defense.

Conclusions:

  • Internal wood decay is likely a result of low-cost, low-benefit wood.
  • Trees may not invest in defending non-essential wood.
  • Further empirical research is needed to validate this theory.