If you’re stuck outside in the middle of a lightning storm, the most common advice is to stay away from trees, which might attract lightning. And while getting struck by lightning would certainly be very bad news for you, new research suggests certain trees might draw unexpected benefits from the electrocution.
A team of researchers has revealed that Dipteryx oleifera—a tall tropical tree with a large crown and native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama—not only tolerates lightning strikes but actually benefits from them, and may even have evolved to attract lightning. Their work is detailed in a study published Wednesday in the journal New Phytologist.
Led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the team was inspired to investigate D. oleifera’s relationship with lightning after discovering a unique specimen in Panama in 2015. The tree had survived getting struck by lightning with little damage, despite the fact that the electrocution had killed a parasitic vine tangled in its branches, in addition to a dozen trees in its vicinity.
“Seeing that there are trees that get struck by lightning and they’re fine was just mind blowing,” Gora said in a Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies statement. Seven years later, the researchers discovered that some trees are more resistant to lightning strikes than others. Now, the team claims to be the first to demonstrate that, for some species, being struck might actually be beneficial.
Gora and his colleagues observed the wellbeing of 93 trees in central Panama’s Barro Colorado Nature Monument for two to six years after each was struck by lightning, tracking their mortality rates, the condition of their trunks and crowns, the presence of vines or lianas, and the survival rate of neighboring trees.
Nine of the 93 trees were D. oleifera, and all of them survived getting struck by lightning with little damage. The electrocution reduced their parasitic vines by 78% and killed an average of 9.2 of their neighboring trees. In stark contrast, other tree species were significantly worse off—they lost 5.7 more leaves, and 64% of them died within two years.
In Gora’s words, “It’s better off for a Dipteryx oleifera tree to be struck than not.”
Furthermore, the team found their observations to be broadly consistent across all D. oleifera trees. The species as a whole seems to have fewer vine infestations, and over the past four decades their neighboring trees were 48% more likely to die than other trees in the forest. Thanks to drone technology, the researchers also noted that D. oleifera trees generally tower around 13 feet (four meters) over nearby trees—potentially because any tall neighbors were taken out by lightning.
The reduction in vine infestation and tall neighbors gives D. oleifera trees more access to light and nutrients, and as a result, a competitive advantage over other tree species. The researchers calculated that D. oleifera‘s lightning tolerance makes them 14 times more likely to produce offspring. Good thing, too, because according to the study, they might be up to 68% more likely to get struck by lightning than the average tree. One of the nine D. oleifera observed by the researchers was hit by lightning twice in half a decade.
It’s hard not to think that with all these benefits, the trees might be doing it on purpose. As a matter of fact, Gora and his colleagues suggest that D. oleifera might have evolved to attract lightning, similarly to a lightning rod.
Overall, the study provides insight on the role of lightning tolerance in biodiversity. This is especially important in the context of climate change, which might bring more lightning storms in certain regions, according to the statement. Moving forward, the researchers are hoping to better understand the mechanisms behind the tree’s resistance to lightning.
Moral of the story: don’t stand under trees during a lightning storm—especially a D. oleifera!
