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Knowledge Hub
Explore. Learn. Protect.
Introduction
Science, Insight, and Evidence Behind Protecting Banner Forest
The Knowledge Center brings together scientific research, expert insights, books, and films that demonstrate why protecting Banner Forest matters.
From peer-reviewed studies on ecosystems and carbon storage, to research on fungi networks and forest health, these resources provide the scientific foundation for our advocacy.
They show, clearly and independently, how forests thrive when left to mature, how aggressive thinning can harm biodiversity, and how healthy forests support both climate resilience and human well-being.
Explore the materials below to better understand the evidence behind our mission and why Banner Forest deserves thoughtful, science-based protection.
Books & Publications
The Hidden Life of Trees
Peter Wohlleben
Reveals how trees communicate, share nutrients, and sustain one another through underground fungal networks.
Finding the Mother Tree
Suzanne Simard
Groundbreaking science showing how “mother trees” nurture surrounding saplings and why connection is vital to forest resilience.
The Overstory
Richard Powers
A Pulitzer-winning novel weaving human stories around the struggle to protect forests — fiction that inspires real-world stewardship.
The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature
Peter Wohlleben
Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature
Films & Documentaries
Once Upon a Forest
Luc Jacquet
An awe-inspiring journey into the heart of the world’s forests, exploring how trees grow, communicate, and shape the planet.
Intelligent Trees
Peter Wohlleben &
Suzanne Simard
Shows the invisible bonds and cooperation within forest ecosystems, based on Simard’s pioneering research.
Fantastic Fungi
Louie Schwartzberg
A Pulitzer-winning novel weaving human stories around the struggle to protect forests, fiction that inspires real-world stewardship.
Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees
Diana Beresford-Kroeger
A gentle, beautifully filmed exploration of why ancient forests matter and how simple actions can help restore them.
Scientific Studies & Articles
Ecosystem & Bio diversity
Food & Agriculture Organization - UN
Today, the conflict between forest exploiters and forest protectors has intensified, becoming worldwide, and grown into one of the most critical environmental issues of the latter 20th century. Research shows that the major cause of deforestation is logging activities second to shifting cultivation. This imposes a great number of negative impacts on species or the products produced from forest.
Intensive forest management practices have resulted in the simplification of forest structure through reductions in certain structural elements such as coarse woody debris, snags, and canopies with high spatial variability.
Fungi & Tree Communication
University of British Columbia
The Mother Tree Project & Program (MTPP) is a research and outreach initiative housed in UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, rooted in the idea that forests are deeply interconnected systems, not just collections of individual trees.
Mycorrhizal fungal networks linking the roots of trees in forests are increasingly recognized to facilitate inter-tree communication via resource, defense, and kin recognition signaling and thereby influence the sophisticated behavior of neighbors.
Monika A Gorzelak, Amanda K Asay, Brian J Pickles, Suzanne W Simard
The behavioral changes in ectomycorrhizal plants depend on environmental cues, the identity of the plant neighbor and the characteristics of the mycorrhizal network. The hierarchical integration of this phenomenon with other biological networks at broader scales in forest ecosystems, and the consequences observed when it is interrupted, indicate that underground ‘tree talk’ is a foundational process in the complex adaptive nature of forest ecosystems.
Health & Wellbeing
Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
Research-based healing practice through immersion in forest environments with the aim of promoting mental and physical health and improving disease prevention while at the same time being able to enjoy and appreciate the forest. Forest therapy is defined as a proven Shinrin-yoku effect
Climate & Carbon Storage
US Forest Service
The uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) by terrestrial ecosystems is critical for moderating climate change1. To provide a ground-based long-term assessment of the contribution of forests to terrestrial CO2 uptake, we synthesized in situ forest data from boreal, temperate and tropical biomes spanning three decades.