Suzanne Simard: podcast appearances and interviews

Suzanne Simard, born in 1960, is a Canadian forestry scientist and conservationist renowned for her research on forest ecology and plant intelligence. She is a professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Simard grew up in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia and obtained her PhD in Forest Sciences from Oregon State University. Before her current position, she worked as a research scientist at the British Columbia Ministry of Forests.

Simard is best known for her studies on the underground networks in forests, which are characterized by fungi and roots. Her research explores how these networks facilitate communication and interaction among trees and plants within an ecosystem. This communication involves the exchange of carbon, water, nutrients, and defense signals, contributing to the health and stability of forest communities. She has used rare carbon isotopes to trace the flow of carbon between individual trees and species in both field and greenhouse settings. Her findings include that birch and Douglas fir trees share carbon, with birch trees receiving extra carbon when they lose their leaves and supplying carbon to shaded Douglas firs.

In addition to her research, Simard leads TerreWEB, an initiative dedicated to training graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in global change science and its communication. Her work has advanced understanding of forest dynamics and the interconnectedness of plant life, emphasizing the importance of underground fungal and root networks in forest ecosystems.