Home Planet - 09/11/2010

We all know that wind in the trees can produce a distinctive gentle rustle, but one Home Planet listener was startled to hear loud creaks and chirrups coming from French woodland on a hot sunny day. It wasn't insects, they could see no animals so what was producing this mysterious tree borne noise? We have the tricky question of how many people can planet Earth naturally sustain, is it a scientific or a political question? Did Welsh drovers know of an otherwise hidden forest of Scot's pine, a species thought to be extinct in the UK, why do maps and atlases always have North at the top and how do trees growing on inclines keep their foliage the same height above the ground despite the slope. Answering these questions in this week's Home Planet are are Human Geographer Professor Sue Buckingham of Brunel University, Dr Nick Brown, a forest ecologist from Oxford University and Professor Philip Stott, an environmental scientist from the University of London. Contact: Home Planet BBC Radio 4 PO Box 3096 Brighton BN1 1PL Or email [email protected] Or telephone: 08700 100 400 Presenter: Richard Daniel Producer: Toby Murcott A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.