Could Earthquakes Actually Be Helping Trees Grow?

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Transcript

00:00Earthquakes can be one of the most devastating forces on the planet.

00:07But it might not be the worst thing for all organisms living here.

00:10According to a new study, trees may actually benefit from a little quaking every once in a while.

00:15The researchers found that earthquakes don't just shift the soil beneath our feet,

00:18but also the groundwater that moves through it, giving them the idea to look at trees in earthquake zones.

00:23They were also near valley streams.

00:25Their hypothesis? After a quake, the trees lower on the hillside of the valley would get a rush of groundwater and receive a growth spurt.

00:32And by looking at the tree rings, they found that, yeah, that's exactly what was happening.

00:35Here's what the team from the University of Potsdam in Germany had to say about the phenomenon.

00:39Large earthquakes can increase the amount of water feeding stream flows, raise groundwater levels,

00:44and thus grant plant roots more access to water in water-limited environments

00:48and in areas where a forest of trees might be limited in its growth potential due to a lack of hydration,

00:53a little earthquake, and a lot of newly available groundwater could be a huge boon.