Leonardo da Vinci made a mistake. His error was duplicated for centuries
Leonardo da Vinci tried to understand how trees grow. His observations were considered accurate for many centuries. New research proves that the Renaissance genius was mistaken, and his error was duplicated over the years.
Oct 21, 2023 | updated: 4:47 AM EDT, October 23, 2023
The "Tree Principle" was formulated by Leonardo da Vinci as an attempt to describe the way trees grow and branch. Although the Florentine master used it to create better plant drawings, his principle has been useful for the world of science for a long time.
According to Leonardo, all branches of a tree at a given height have a combined thickness equivalent to the thickness of its trunk. This principle allowed for the creation of realistic drawings, but - adopted by the scientific world as a given - it also helped in modeling various processes related to plant growth.
The problem arose when researchers from British Bangor University and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) applied Leonardo da Vinci's rule to the system responsible in trees for transporting water from roots, through the trunk and branches, to leaves. It turned out that it does not have the right to operate.
While studying the hydraulic resistance and the action of capillaries in a water transport system, enabling water transportation at great heights, researchers concluded that at the ends of branches, the plant must reduce its volume to maintain an appropriately high ratio of capillaries to the surrounding plant mass.
The study debunked Leonardo da Vinci's old rule, that was not its goal.
According to researchers, this may help in the proper estimation of forests absorbing carbon dioxide. A side effect of undermining the observations of Leonardo da Vinci is also a better understanding of why large trees are more susceptible to drought and adverse climate changes.
