Talk is cheap: rediscovering sounds made by plants

Area of Science:

• Plant Science
• Bioacoustics
• Stress Physiology

Background:

• Recent studies highlight ultrasonic sound emission from stressed plants, particularly under drought conditions.
• Technological advancements confirm these sounds propagate in ambient air.
• Research into plant sound production dates back over a century, with foundational work by Milburn et al. on stress-induced sound emission mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To contextualize recent findings on plant bioacoustics within historical research.
• To review the current understanding of sound emission mechanisms in stressed plants.
• To assess the speculative nature of plant communication via sound.

Main Methods:

• Review of historical and recent scientific literature on plant sound production.
• Analysis of studies demonstrating airborne sound propagation from plants.
• Evaluation of experimental evidence for sound-mediated plant interactions.

Main Results:

• Plant sound production under stress is a recognized phenomenon with established mechanisms.
• Airborne ultrasonic sounds from plants have been experimentally verified.
• No conclusive experimental evidence currently supports sound-based communication between plants or between plants and animals.

Conclusions:

• The phenomenon of ultrasonic sound production by stressed plants is scientifically supported.
• Current understanding of sound emission mechanisms is adequate.
• Hypotheses regarding the communicative role of these sounds in plant-animal or plant-plant interactions are speculative and require further empirical investigation.