Above, the vine wrapped around the tree is a relationship known as parasitism. Parasitism is a relationship where one living thing benefits while the other is harmed. While this picture might look like an innocent tree with leaves gently laid around it, the vine is actually choking the tree. There are many reasons to explain this unique relationship. First, the vine grows in the canopy of a tree and blocks the process of photosynthesis by covering and killing the trees leaves. When the vines become too heavy they also cause the tree to topple and die. Secondly, competition comes into play. The vines compete with the tree's roots for necessary elements, such as nitrogen. This is important to nature because vine seeds, such as ivy, can spread to other forests where it can strangle native vegetation and injure other trees. Often what needs to happen in order for the trees to live in vine covered areas is for a few trees and vines to be cut back. If this does not happen, entire forests could be blighted.
This website helped me get my information:
http://www.treesatlanta.org/vines.html
The picture I originally found was deleted so I got this tree from:
http://www.larryhester.com/tree-vines-s.jpg
