Study
Rapid changes in tree leaf chemistry induced by damage: evidence for communication between plants
Baldwin, Ian T.; Schultz, Jack C.
Science, 1983
Poplar and sugar maple saplings were torn to simulate herbivory while sharing sealed air space with undamaged neighbours, and leaf phenolic chemistry was measured in both.
- Studied in
- Populus × euramericana, Acer saccharum
- Sample size
- saplings in sealed growth chambers, damaged and undamaged
Undamaged plants sharing air with damaged ones increased their defensive phenolic compounds within a day or two, relative to controls in separate chambers.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Damaged plants release airborne compounds that induce defensive changes in neighbouring plants.
How NatureHQ reads it
The paper that started the field, and it was heavily criticised — small samples, pseudoreplication, sealed chambers nothing like a forest — to the point where the whole idea was treated as unserious for over a decade. It is included here because the history matters: an initially weak study proposing a real phenomenon is a different thing from a wrong one, and the vindication came from better-designed field experiments rather than from repetition.
- Sealed chambers concentrate volatiles far beyond field conditions.
- Small samples and shared chambers raise pseudoreplication concerns.
- No demonstration that the induced change reduced actual herbivory.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.221.4607.277
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.