Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective

Abstract Here we report on a pilot study of the Living Root Bridges (LRBs) in the Indian State Meghalaya, which are grown with aerial roots of Ficus elastica, a facultative hemiepiphyte developing abundant aerial roots. Locals use these aerial roots to build living bridges, which strengthen themselv...

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Autores principales:	Ferdinand Ludwig, Wilfrid Middleton, Friederike Gallenmüller, Patrick Rogers, Thomas Speck
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2019
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/63e5a1d78c424a8e8e83fcaa4b9615aa
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:63e5a1d78c424a8e8e83fcaa4b9615aa2021-12-02T15:09:57ZLiving bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective10.1038/s41598-019-48652-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/63e5a1d78c424a8e8e83fcaa4b9615aa2019-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48652-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Here we report on a pilot study of the Living Root Bridges (LRBs) in the Indian State Meghalaya, which are grown with aerial roots of Ficus elastica, a facultative hemiepiphyte developing abundant aerial roots. Locals use these aerial roots to build living bridges, which strengthen themselves over time due to adaptive secondary growth and their capacity to form a mechanically stable structure via inosculations. An extensive inventory of LRBs in Meghalaya including data of location, altitude, approximate age and bridge length was performed in field studies. Root morphology was characterised by measurements of cross-sectional area and shape-related parameters and analysed in relation to the orientation of the roots. LRBs are found to occur mainly in the mountainous limestone rainforests where F. elastica may be native or traditionally cultivated. They cover an altitude range of 57–1211 m a.m.s.l. and display a length of 2 to 52.7 m. Some bridges are several hundreds of years old. Horizontally and vertically trained roots differ significantly in shape and cross-sectional area when approximately even-aged roots are compared. The results are discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective, considering the adaptive traits in the natural life cycle of F. elastica and possible applications in living architecture (Baubotanik).Ferdinand LudwigWilfrid MiddletonFriederike GallenmüllerPatrick RogersThomas SpeckNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Ferdinand Ludwig Wilfrid Middleton Friederike Gallenmüller Patrick Rogers Thomas Speck Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
description	Abstract Here we report on a pilot study of the Living Root Bridges (LRBs) in the Indian State Meghalaya, which are grown with aerial roots of Ficus elastica, a facultative hemiepiphyte developing abundant aerial roots. Locals use these aerial roots to build living bridges, which strengthen themselves over time due to adaptive secondary growth and their capacity to form a mechanically stable structure via inosculations. An extensive inventory of LRBs in Meghalaya including data of location, altitude, approximate age and bridge length was performed in field studies. Root morphology was characterised by measurements of cross-sectional area and shape-related parameters and analysed in relation to the orientation of the roots. LRBs are found to occur mainly in the mountainous limestone rainforests where F. elastica may be native or traditionally cultivated. They cover an altitude range of 57–1211 m a.m.s.l. and display a length of 2 to 52.7 m. Some bridges are several hundreds of years old. Horizontally and vertically trained roots differ significantly in shape and cross-sectional area when approximately even-aged roots are compared. The results are discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective, considering the adaptive traits in the natural life cycle of F. elastica and possible applications in living architecture (Baubotanik).
format	article
author	Ferdinand Ludwig Wilfrid Middleton Friederike Gallenmüller Patrick Rogers Thomas Speck
author_facet	Ferdinand Ludwig Wilfrid Middleton Friederike Gallenmüller Patrick Rogers Thomas Speck
author_sort	Ferdinand Ludwig
title	Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
title_short	Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
title_full	Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
title_fullStr	Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
title_full_unstemmed	Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
title_sort	living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/63e5a1d78c424a8e8e83fcaa4b9615aa
work_keys_str_mv	AT ferdinandludwig livingbridgesusingaerialrootsofficuselasticaaninterdisciplinaryperspective AT wilfridmiddleton livingbridgesusingaerialrootsofficuselasticaaninterdisciplinaryperspective AT friederikegallenmuller livingbridgesusingaerialrootsofficuselasticaaninterdisciplinaryperspective AT patrickrogers livingbridgesusingaerialrootsofficuselasticaaninterdisciplinaryperspective AT thomasspeck livingbridgesusingaerialrootsofficuselasticaaninterdisciplinaryperspective
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Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective

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