Living Plants Ecosystem Sensing: A Quantum Bridge between Thermodynamics and Bioelectricity

Abstract

The in situ measurement of the bioelectric potential in xilematic and floematic superior plants reveals valuable insights into the biological activity of these organisms, including their responses to lunar and solar cycles and collective behaviour. This paper reports on the “Cyberforest Experiment” conducted in the open-air Paneveggio forest in Valle di Fiemme, Trento, Italy, where spruce (i.e., Picea abies) is cultivated. Our analysis of the bioelectric potentials reveals a strong correlation between higher-order complexity measurements and thermodynamic entropy and suggests that bioelectrical signals can reflect the metabolic activity of plants. Additionally, temporal correlations of bioelectric signals from different trees may be precisely synchronized or may lag behind. These correlations are further explored through the lens of quantum field theory, suggesting that the forest can be viewed as a collective array of in-phase elements whose correlation is naturally tuned depending on the environmental conditions. These results provide compelling evidence for the potential of living plant ecosystems as environmental sensors.

Bioelectrical Synchronisation of Spruce Trees during a Solar Eclipse

“…To understand what might be the origin of the time symmetry breaking observed in our experimental findings, we formulated in ( 17 ) and ( 28 ) a theoretical modelling based on quantum field theory (QFT), which we adopt also in the present discussion. The fundamental concept in the formulation is that trees are open, dissipative systems.…”

“…During the event, phase correlations among trees appear to be enhanced, which is mirrored by the condensate and, in turn, the bioelectric potentials. As trees are open systems and their evolution is ruled by dissipative dynamics ( 28 ), we expect non-symmetric reactions to perturbing agents, especially in older trees that have developed a larger number of correlations with the environment. As expressed by Eq.…”