“There are more lifeforms in a handful of forest soil than there are people on the planet.”
-Peter Wohlleben, Author, “The Hidden Life of Trees”
The above quote from Peter Wohlleben is 100% accurate. One cubic centimeter of forest soil contains approximately 10^9 bacterial cells. That’s one billion bacteria, and we haven’t even discussed other microbes like fungi and protists, anything larger than bacteria, like meiofauna (organisms that are larger than microbes but still less than 1 mm in size), or anything smaller than bacteria, like viruses. Forest soil is an entire universe unto itself. And just like the world that we live in and identify with on a daily basis, some of those living organisms can be beneficial, while others can be detrimental to the survival of others.
Let’s examine, for example, the soil surrounding a Fraser fir Christmas tree. Just a handful of this soil would likely contain more than a trillion organisms. There would be earthworms, and tardigrades, roly-polys, and ants. There would be more organisms that you couldn’t see than ones you could see because most are smaller than the human eye can perceive. And yet, if you’re eye could perceive all the life surrounding those Christmas tree roots, you would be astonished at the gnarly fight for survival occurring on a mass, yet minute, scale we cannot even imagine.
Let’s zoom out from the microscopic habitat of soil for a minute to see where we are. North Carolina is known for many wonderful things: beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, outstanding hiking trails, productive river systems, and America’s favorite Christmas Tree – the Fraser Fir. There are more than 900 Christmas tree farms in North Carolina, with over three million trees sold in our state alone each year, and on top of that, 2024 will be the third year in a row that North Carolina growers have won the competition to send a monster of a Christmas tree to the White House. You can imagine that as a huge source of pride for our state’s growers.
And while the mountain region in our state is known for having the ideal climate for growing nearly perfect Fraser firs, there are concerns that have hit home hard. With temperatures on the rise, the climate seems to be drier overall, but when the rain comes, it doesn’t come in gentle even waves. It comes in torrential downpours that cause flooding and damage, and all of that moisture is lending a helping hand to a tree fungus, Phytophthora root rot, that is killing Fraser firs. These incredible smelling trees that adorn many homes during the Christmas season take approximately 10 years to grow before being they can be sold during the holiday season. Phytophthora often strikes and kills during those necessary years of growth, leaving many Christmas tree farmers without enough crop to sell. And once Phytophthora creeps in letting root rot take over, trees turn orange within a couple of weeks. There’s no chance of survival, and additional plantings in that same area continue to develop the fungus because the fungal spores thrive in the soil with all the other microbes. It’s just impossible to get rid of.
So, many people now believe that science is the only hope in this situation, and new scientific efforts in tree genetics are bringing that hope to Christmas tree farmers in North Carolina. Justin Whitehill runs the Christmas tree genetics lab at NC State University and they have acquired a $7.4 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture to engineer a stronger Fraser fir. The science at the heart of this research is all about determining the best genetic makeup for Fraser fir seeds, allowing the tree to retain its ideal shape and intoxicating Christmas aroma, while making it resistant to Phytophthora and other pests that are destroying the trees en masse each year.
It may not be long before Christmas tree lots are boasting large new signs emblazoned with the words “Genetically Engineered Christmas Trees for Sale Here!” And while I admit that’s not a brag I would have ever imagined myself embracing, it’s beneficial for all of us to realize that advances in science are allowing us everyday to maintain some of the norms of a tradition-filled life in an ever changing world.