New critique debunks claim that trees can sense a solar eclipse

Scientists challenged a controversial 2025 study claiming trees could sense solar eclipses through electrical signals, arguing that weather factors like lightning strikes provide simpler explanations for the recorded electrical changes in plants. The original researchers defended their work, stating they measured temperature, humidity, and solar radiation but found no strong correlations with the electrical patterns during the eclipse, though they acknowledged not measuring environmental electric fields or lightning activity at their specific location.