Electromagnetic Fields, Tree & Plant Growth

Research has documented crown damage in trees from the radiation from cell towers and scientific reviews show that plants are sensitive.

Electromagnetic (EMF) frequencies have been found to alter the growth and development of plants. Studies on wireless EMF frequencies have found physiological and morphological changes, increased micronuclei formation, altered growth as well as adverse cell characteristics such as thinner cell walls and smaller mitochondria. Plants perceive and respond to electromagnetic fields .

A field study that monitored over 100 trees for 9 years entitled Radiofrequency radiation injures trees around mobile phone base stations published in Science of the Total Environment found a high level of damage to trees in the vicinity of phone masts (Waldmann-Selsam 2016). The authors conclude that “deployment has been continued without consideration of environmental impact.”

Images and Documentation

The 2021 Report “Tree damage caused by mobile phone base stations 2021″
The 2017 Report “Tree damage caused by mobile phone base stations An observation guide” that documents crown damage in trees in the line of sight of mobile phone base stations.
Download the 104-page brochure “Tree Damage Caused by Radiofrequency Radiation) from Dr. Waldmann Selsam that has images of the tree damage and explains the effects using exemplary observations from the period 2005 to 2021. (PDF in German here)

More Research

A study on Aspen trees near Lyons, Colorado entitled “Adverse Influence of Radio Frequency Background on Trembling Aspen Seedlings” published in the International Journal of Forestry found adverse effects on growth rate and fall anthocyanin production, concluding that “results of this preliminary experiment indicate that the RF background may be adversely affecting leaf and shoot growth and inhibiting fall production of anthocyanins associated with leaf senescence in Trembling Aspen seedlings. These effects suggest that exposure to the RF background may be an underlying factor in the recent rapid decline of Aspen populations. Further studies are underway to test this hypothesis in a more rigorous way.”

An analysis of 45 peer-reviewed scientific publications (1996–2016) on changes in plants due to the non-thermal RF-EMF effects from mobile phone radiation entitled “Weak radio frequency radiation exposure from mobile phone radiation on plants” concludes, “Our analysis demonstrates that the data from a substantial amount of the studies on RF-EMFs from mobile phones show physiological and/or morphological effects (89.9%, p < 0.001). Additionally, our analysis of the results from these reported studies demonstrates that the maize, roselle, pea, fenugreek, duckweeds, tomato, onions and mungbean plants seem to be very sensitive to RF-EMFs. Our findings also suggest that plants seem to be more responsive to certain frequencies….”

In 2021, the Tree Care Industry Magazine published an article on the hazards faced by tree care workers in increasing proximity to the ever-expanding universe of antennas, both regular radio and 5G/wireless.

Read Beware the Dangers from AM Radio and 5G Transmission Sites (PDF)

Thousands of new 5G “small” cell towers are being built in residential neighborhoods posing risks to tree canopy.

Antennas are going on top of street lights and utility poles and new “small” cell tower poles are being installed. New wireless antennas are being attached to buildings, from two story buildings as well as taller apartment complexes. Each wireless facility includes transmitting antennas and equipment closer to the ground and next to trees.

Trees canopy is critical to human health the climate and and the environment because trees:

Capture air pollution and improve air quality.
Save energy by reducing the temperature and reducing energy use for air conditioning.
Remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen.
Help prevent flooding and keep the soil nutrient-rich.
Provide habitat for wildlife.

Wireless infrastructure can impact tree canopy in numerous ways

Companies have aggressively trimmed trees with no oversight by arborists.
Trees are being felled/removed to build infrastructure and/or roads to the facility.
Digging to install the poles and related equipment can disrupt the root zone.
Research studies have found damage to trees from exposure to the radiofrequency radiation emitted from the wireless antennas.

Austrian Telecom Giant Telstra is Aware That Trees Absorb Wireless Radiation

“Telstra is also funding research into whether uniquely Australian obstacles – including flora – will disrupt 5G signals, which occupy a higher frequency and don’t travel as far as other mobile signals. “Something that seems to be unique to Australia, and we found with earlier standards, is how gumtrees impact those radio signals and the way they get from the radio tower to the end user,”

-Telstra pushes for 5G that Works in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2017,

Research Studies:

Breunig, Helmut. “Tree damage caused by mobile phone base stations An observation guide” (2017).

Waldmann-Selsam, C., et al. “Radiofrequency radiation injures trees around mobile phone base stations.” Science of the Total Environment 572 (2016): 554-69.

“In the last two decades, the deployment of phone masts around the world has taken place and, for many years, there has been a discussion in the scientific community about the possible environmental impact from mobile phone base stations. Trees have several advantages over animals as experimental subjects and the aim of this study was to verify whether there is a connection between unusual (generally unilateral) tree damage and radiofrequency exposure.
To achieve this, a detailed long-term (2006-2015) field monitoring study was performed in the cities of Bamberg and Hallstadt (Germany).
The measurements of all trees revealed significant differences between the damaged side facing a phone mast and the opposite side, as well as differences between the exposed side of damaged trees and all other groups of trees in both sides. Thus, we found that side differences in measured values of power flux density corresponded to side differences in damage. The 30 selected trees in low radiation areas (no visual contact to any phone mast and power flux density under 50μW/m(2)) showed no damage. Statistical analysis demonstrated that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone masts is harmful for trees. These results are consistent with the fact that damage afflicted on trees by mobile phone towers usually start on one side, extending to the whole tree over time.”
Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam – Kompetenzinitiative
- Tree damages in Bamberg and Hallstadt – examples from a documentation 2006-2016 DOWNLOAD PDF FOR FREE
- Selection documentation Trees in Bamberg , Part 1 DOWNLOAD PDF FOR FREE
- Selection documentary trees in Bamberg , part 2 DOWNLOAD PDF FOR FREE
- Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam and Horst Eger: Tree damage in the vicinity of mobile phone transmitters , environment – medicine – society 3/2013 PDF DOWNLOAD FOR FREE
- Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam and Horst Eger: Tree damage in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations , environment – medicine – society 3/2013 PDF DOWNLOAD FOR FREE
- Media reports ON THE CONTRIBUTION

Martin Pall. “Electromagnetic Fields Act Similarly in Plants as in Animals: Probable Activation of Calcium Channels via Their Voltage Sensor” Current Chemical Biology, Volume 10 , Issue 1 , 2016

It has been shown that low intensity microwave/lower frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) act in animals via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in the plasma membrane, producing excessive intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i, with excessive [Ca2+]i leading to both pathophysiological and also in some cases therapeutic effects. The pathophysiological effects are produced largely through excessive [Ca2+]i signaling including excessive nitric oxide (NO), superoxide, peroxynitrite, free radical formation and consequent oxidative stress. The activation of the VGCCs is thought to be produced via EMF impact on the VGCC voltage sensor, with the physical properties of that voltage sensor predicting that it is extraordinarily sensitive to these EMFs.
It is shown here that the action of EMFs in terrestrial, multicellular (embryophyte) plants is probably similar to the action in animals in most but not all respects, with calcium channel activation in the plasma membrane leading to excessive [Ca2+]i, leading in turn to most if not all of the biological effects. A number of studies in plants are briefly reviewed which are consistent with and supportive of such a mechanism. Plant channels most plausibly to be involved, are the so-called two pore channels (TPCs), which have a voltage sensor similar to those found in the animal VGCCs.

Halgamuge, M.N. “Weak radiofrequency radiation exposure from mobile phone radiation on plants.” Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 36.2 (2017): 213-235.

“Our analysis demonstrates that the data from a substantial amount of the studies on RF-EMFs from mobile phones show physiological and/or morphological effects (89.9%, p < 0.001). Additionally, our analysis of the results from these reported studies demonstrates that the maize, roselle, pea, fenugreek, duckweeds, tomato, onions and mungbean plants seem to be very sensitive to RF-EMFs. Our findings also suggest that plants seem to be more responsive to certain frequencies…”

Shikha Chandel, et al. “Exposure to 2100 MHz electromagnetic field radiations induces reactive oxygen species generation in Allium cepa roots.” Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure 5.4 (2017): 225-229.

“The present study investigated the role of cell phone EMF-r in inciting oxidative damage in onion (Allium cepa) roots at a frequency of 2100 MHz. Onion roots were exposed to continuous wave homogenous EMF-r for 1, 2 and 4 h for single day. The results showed that EMF-r exposure enhanced the content of MDA, H2O2 and O2−. Also, there was an upregulation in the activity of antioxidant enzymes− SOD and CAT− in onion roots. The study concluded that 2100 MHz cell phone EMF-r incite oxidative damage in onion roots by altering the oxidative metabolism.”

Gustavino, B., et al. “Exposure to 915 MHz radiation induces micronuclei in Vicia faba root tips.” Mutagenesis 31.2 (2016): 187-92.

The increasing use of mobile phones and wireless networks raised a great debate about the real carcinogenic potential of radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure associated with these devices. Conflicting results are reported by the great majority of in vivo and in vitro studies on the capability of RF-EMF exposure to induce DNA damage and mutations in mammalian systems. Aimed at understanding whether less ambiguous responses to RF-EMF exposure might be evidenced in plant systems with respect to mammalian ones, in the present work the mutagenic effect of RF-EMF has been studied through the micronucleus (MN) test in secondary roots of Vicia faba seedlings exposed to mobile phone transmission in controlled conditions, inside a transverse electro magnetic (TEM) cell.
Results of three independent experiments show the induction of a significant increase of MN frequency after exposure, ranging from a 2.3-fold increase above the sham value, at the lowest SAR level, up to a 7-fold increase at the highest SAR. These findings are in agreement with the limited number of data on cytogenetic effects detected in other plant systems exposed to mobile phone RF-EMF frequencies and clearly show the capability of radiofrequency exposure to induce DNA damage in this eukaryotic cell system.
It is worth noticing that this range of SAR values is well below the international limits for localised exposure (head, trunk), according to the ICNIRP guidelines (35) and IEEE std C95.1 (38), which are 10 (8.0) W/kg for occupational exposure and 2.0 (1.6) W/kg for general public exposure respectively.

Halgamuge, Malka N., See Kye Yak and Jacob L. Eberhardt. “Reduced growth of soybean seedlings after exposure to weak microwave radiation from GSM 900 mobile phone and base station.” Bioelectromagnetics 36.2 (2015): 87-95.

The aim of this work was to study possible effects of environmental radiation pollution on plants. The association between cellular telephone (short duration, higher amplitude) and base station (long duration, very low amplitude) radiation exposure and the growth rate of soybean (Glycine max) seedlings was investigated.
The exposure to higher amplitude (41 V m−1) GSM radiation resulted in diminished outgrowth of the epicotyl. The exposure to lower amplitude (5.7 V m−1) GSM radiation did not influence outgrowth of epicotyl, hypocotyls, or roots. The exposure to higher amplitude CW radiation resulted in reduced outgrowth of the roots whereas lower CW exposure resulted in a reduced outgrowth of the hypocotyl. Soybean seedlings were also exposed for 5 days to an extremely low level of radiation (GSM 900 MHz, 0.56 V m−1) and outgrowth was studied 2 days later. Growth of epicotyl and hypocotyl was found to be reduced, whereas the outgrowth of roots was stimulated.
Our findings indicate that the observed effects were significantly dependent on field strength as well as amplitude modulation of the applied field.

Senavirathna, M.D., et al. “Nanometer-scale elongation rate fluctuations in the Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather) stem were altered by radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation.” Plant Signal Behav 9.3 (2014).

Statistically significant changes to this plant from a non thermal effect.

Soran, M.L., et al. “Influence of microwave frequency electromagnetic radiation on terpene emission and content in aromatic plants.” Journal of Plant Physiology 171.15 (2014): 1436-43.

Microwave irradiation resulted in thinner cell walls, smaller chloroplasts and mitochondria, and enhanced emissions of volatile compounds, in particular, monoterpenes and green leaf volatiles (GLV). These data collectively demonstrate that human-generated microwave pollution can potentially constitute a stress to the plants.
The above is only a small sampling of the research showing biological effects at non thermal levels on living organisms.

Haggerty, Katie. “Adverse Influence of Radio Frequency Background on Trembling Aspen Seedlings.” International Journal of Forestry Research 2010.836278 (2010).

“This study suggests that the RF background may have strong adverse effects on growth rate and fall anthocyanin production in aspen, and may be an underlying factor in aspen decline.”

Kouzmanova, M., et al. “Alterations in enzyme activities in leaves after exposure of Plectranthus sp. plants to 900 MHz electromagnetic field.” Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment 23.sup1 (2009): 611-615.

“The purpose of our study was to investigate the alterations in enzyme activities in leaves after exposure of plants Plectranthus sp. to 900 MHz EMF and their dependence on the time elapsed after exposure.
Alterations in activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in leaves were registered immediately after the end of the exposure and 1, 2 and 24 hours later. Irradiation of plants induced different alterations in enzyme activities depending on the time elapsed after irradiation. Immediately after exposure the activity of the three investigated enzymes decreased, but increased at 24th hour.
In conclusion, the data provide evidence that plants perceive and respond to electromagnetic fields and are a good model to study the effects of mobile phone radiation.”

Trebbi, Grazia, et al. “Extremely low frequency weak magnetic fields enhance resistance of NN tobacco plants to tobacco mosaic virus and elicit stress‐related biochemical activities.” Bioelectromagnetics 28.3 (2007): 214-223.

“Increasing evidence has accumulated concerning the biological effects of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) in different plant models.
Following ELF-MFs exposure, an increased resistance was detected, particularly after an 8-h treatment, as shown by the decrease in lesion area and number. Moreover, two enzyme activities involved in resistance mechanisms were analyzed: ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). Uninoculated leaves previously exposed to ELF-MFs in general showed a significant increase relative to controls in ODC and PAL activities, in particular for 13 microT static MF plus 28.9 microT, 10 Hz sinusoidal MF (24 h) treatment.
In conclusion, ELF-MFs seem to influence the HR of tobacco to TMV, as shown by the increased resistance and changes in ODC and PAL activities, indicating the reliability of the present plant model in the study of bioelectromagnetic interactions.”