A paper published in the magazine ‘Nature Plants’ reveals that older trees are vital to preserving the long-term adaptive capacity of forests in front of a constantly changing environment.
The work was prepared by the professor of Biology at the Spanish University of Barcelona Sergi Munné-Bosch, the director of the Tree Science Center of The Morton Arboretum (United States), Chuk Cannon, and the professor of landscape planning and management ecological at the University of Tuscia (Italy) Gianluca Piovesan.
The authors remark that the oldest trees, which are less than 1% of the forest population, provide a great genetic and biological diversity that is essential in the global population of a forest and they are testimonies of a wide range of historical environmental conditions.
These trees can survive hundreds or thousands of years and “they provide invaluable benefits to the forest ecosystem, providing a habitat for other species and capturing a very high amount of carbon compared to much younger trees”as detailed by Professor Munné-Bosch.
The study authors point out that deforestation of natural forests is progressing progressively and the global mortality rate of trees is increasing on a global scalein part, because of climate change, so that their ability to achieve long life is very limited or almost impossible.
Despite forest restoration and tree planting to improve local and global habitats, ancient trees cannot be recovered or regenerated without the passing of many centuries and generations.
“This study reminds us of the urgent need to promote a global strategy to conserve biodiversity and preserve the remains of ancient trees that can become the axes of biodiversity of future old-growth forests”, concludes Piovesan.(I)
Source: Eluniverso
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