Ep. 516 - Plants in the Afterlife

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Plants ARE habitat and that doesn't stop when they die. Countless species of microbes, fungi, arthropods, and more not only take up residence in dead plant material but also require it to complete their lifecycle. My guest today is Dr. Amy Zanne and she spends a lot of time thinking about the things that live in dead wood and their impacts on the world around us. As you will hear, these organisms have major impacts on how our planet functions. This episode was produced in part by Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Now more than ever, we need to be talking about scientific facts.
0:03.8	And In Defensive Plants is a great place to do that for botany and ecology topics.
0:08.1	But you can't have these conversations each and every week unless you support the show.
0:12.2	And there are a lot of great ways to do that.
0:13.8	But one of the best ways to support In Defensive Plants is to become a patron over at patreon.com
0:18.2	slash In Defensive Plants.
0:19.9	And it's not just one-sided support.
0:22.1	You get kickbacks in the process, including access to bonus episodes, which right now
0:26.0	we're running a great series where Sarah Johnson and I learn how to garden better.
0:29.5	We're talking everything from native plants to food plants and even aquatic plants in my aquarium.
0:34.2	It's a really fun series.
0:35.4	We're learning a ton, so come learn with us and help keep the show up and running in the process. Once again, that's patreon.com slash indefiniteofantauplants or just navigate to the the official podcast of indefensiveplants.com.
0:57.6	What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week?
1:12.4	We are venturing into the world of the plant afterlife. And no, not in a mythological sort of way, but grounded in reality. What happens to plants after they die? Specifically woody plants. It turns out they continue to be habitat, and they influence so much, including soil texture, chemistry, nutrients, even the composition of our
1:17.8	atmosphere. Joining us to talk about this is Dr. Amy Zann, who, as you're going to hear,
1:22.3	gets to spend a lot of really fun time trying to understand the importance of plants after death.
1:28.5	I don't want to steal any of her thunder.
1:29.8	This is such a cool conversation and she's so great at distilling really complex topics
1:34.1	and fun and easy ways to understand.
1:36.3	So let's just jump right into it.
1:37.7	Without further ado,
1:38.8	here's my conversation with Dr. Amy Zan.
	...

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