在这项首次观测中，研究者在雷暴中发现树冠并非只受雷电影响，而是会持续发生“不可见的电晕放电”。在一次持续 90 分钟的观测里，研究者对一棵甜榧树（sweetgum）三个树枝进行跟踪，记录到 41 次独立放电，意味着放电率约为 0.46 次/分钟（约 27.7 次/小时）。单次闪光最长可达约 3 秒，并可在叶缘之间跳跃，显示放电并非孤立事件，而可能是一次风暴中反复出现的微型电活动群，可能在整个林冠中累积为“成千上万次”的微放电。

文章指出，雷暴中云层正负电荷分离后，地面产生反向电荷并沿树根、树干传导至最高处，在叶尖聚集形成放电点。由于这种发光在可见光下几乎不可见，研究者改用紫外波段成像；实验校准显示单枝可测得约 1 微安（10⁻⁶ A）级别电流。虽然该过程远弱于闪电、且局部且低温，不会劈裂树木，但能集中在尖端并可能灼伤叶表角质层。单次放电痕迹很小，但多次风暴累积后可能扩大损伤并影响叶片生理功能，当前尚缺少后续野外监测来区分哪些物种恢复快、哪些可能出现光合作用能力下降。

这类放电还可能改变林冠下方空气化学。先前 2022 年研究已发现其可提高羟基自由基（OH）水平，进而加快叶源挥发性气体分解，并可能短时抬高臭氧和气溶胶颗粒。由于风雨会快速稀释与清除，影响可能主要局限于树顶附近。观测难度较高：风致抖动会改变叶片朝向，湿表面也会使电流转移到新边缘，导致放电“跳动”且常被树冠互相遮挡，摄像机视场有限，因此低估整片林地活动是几乎必然的。研究还在佛罗里达至宾夕法尼亚的另 4 次风暴追踪中发现了相似信号。当前需与生态学家合作，用叶片损伤/脱水调查和树冠高空气体传感器进行多场次、跨林分监测；文章发表在 *Geophysical Research Letters*。

In this first field observation, researchers found that forests are not influenced only by lightning during thunderstorms, but also by repeated “invisible corona discharges” from tree canopies. During one 90-minute session focused on three branches of one sweetgum tree, 41 separate discharges were recorded, implying a rate of about 0.46 events per minute (roughly 27.7 per hour). Individual flashes lasted up to about 3 seconds and could hop across leaf edges, indicating the process is not a single rare strike but a repeated micro-electric phenomenon that may occur many times across a storm, potentially scaling to thousands across whole canopies.

The mechanism described is electrical charge separation in storm clouds producing an opposite charge on the ground, then conduction through roots and trunk to the highest points, where leaf tips concentrate charge. Because this glow is too weak in visible wavelengths, researchers imaged in ultraviolet and calibrated the brightness, estimating current on a single branch at around one microampere (1×10⁻⁶ A). Although this is far weaker than lightning and cool/localized, the discharge can locally burn leaf tissue; laboratory observations indicated possible cuticle damage at tips. A single event may leave only a small mark, but repeated storms could progressively expand injury across leaves. Species-specific recovery remains unresolved, including whether some trees lose photosynthetic capacity for weeks to seasons.

Atmospheric effects were also considered: a 2022 study suggests corona discharge can raise hydroxyl radical levels, which rapidly oxidize leaf-emitted gases, potentially lifting local ozone and particle concentrations. The impact is likely concentrated near treetops because wind and rain quickly dilute and wash out bursts. Measurement is difficult because moving leaves change orientation, wet surfaces redirect current, and overlapping foliage plus narrow field-of-view cause undercounting; thus forest-wide estimates are still uncertain. Similar signals were detected in four additional storms from Florida to Pennsylvania across multiple species, including pines. Future work calls for repeated storm-by-storm mapping with leaf-damage and dehydration surveys plus canopy air sensors; the study is published in Geophysical Research Letters.