Most of us know trees provide oxygen and absorb the carbon we don’t want to breathe in. This is a process known as photosynthesis, which coalescences sunlight, carbon dioxide, and the green pigment, chlorophyll. This natural method has been happening for a very long time, somewhere around two billion years and not from plants (that came later) but rather from bacteria waste, produced from cyanobacteria. A poison, one we cannot do without according to Bill Bryson’s book, ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, that of oxygen.
It must have come as a surprise in 1957 to those interested in dendrology (the study of trees) to find the oldest living tree a ‘Bristle Cone Pine’ (pictured left) found in California to be dated around 4,789 years old. However, by far the most whopping discovery to date was in New South Wales, near Sydney, in 1994, of a species of pine more than 60 million years old!
To be fair, the Wollemi Pine (pictured right) has not existed as an actual single tree, but rather by cloning itself and replicating, which means the genus has been able to continue in this time capsule.
If you live in Tasmania and are interested in trees, one does not have to travel far. A visit to the Tasmanian Arboretum in Eugenana, near Devonport, are several Wollemi Pine growing on a slope, not far from the entrance. It’s a must-see. Of course, these trees are not the originals. What took place to protect the pine as a single species from too many fires, was the collection of seedlings grown in biological hothouses. And later, distributed globally to places that would nurture them.
The oldest longevity in Australia belongs to the Huon Pine, from southern Tasmania, the stem being over 2,000 years old.
If you want to understand the significance and functionality of trees, ancient ones, you might want to view Fabulous Fungi which appears a little misleading by its title, until you realise what evolves.
One of the recent scientific discoveries, as the programme depicts, is how trees talk to each other. This may, to the human psyche seem bizarre, however, through the root systems, enzymes reach out to other nearby tree communities. In times of stress or root disruption, in their own way, heal a particular tree. As science has shown about carbon capture, ancient forests outstrip plantations in the longer term.
Laugh as we may do at the hippies of the sixties, who passed on the habit of tree-hugging, but, if we pause for a moment, perhaps there may be a bit of truth in the form of healing power that most of us dismiss.
So, the next time you go for a walk, especially in parts of our dwindling untouched wilderness old-growth forests, why not give it a go and have a big hug? You never can tell what might happen!
100% on the money Geoffrey.
Around 80% of Carbon / Oxygen cycling takes place in our oceans, which we are doing our best to turn into septic tanks, but the rest occurs on land and in part through our vegetation.
While the vegetation is a part of the process it is not the whole story for a thriving ecology. Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, worms, insects, animals etc form a symbiotic relationship with vegetation. When we have mono cultures, like crops and plantations, these extra helpers either decrease or disappear meaning the cycling of nutrient, oxygen, carbon etc suffers. Walk in a plantation and you will observe the lack of life.
Multiple families of vegetation, worms, insects, bacteria, fungus etc. work in unison to sustain a brilliant eco system that we are only just starting to understand.
Unfortunately various political parties have conned us into believing that plantations are good for the environment. They are not. Most of the carbon they temporarily sequest, which is the “selling point” ends up back in the atmosphere as CO2, so thats part of the mono culture con.
We desperately need to maintain our old growth forests as well as our oceans as these are the last bastion of good ecology. Unfortunately in Tasmania many of these forests are controlled by logging interests and overseas investment. Our oceans are also under the spot light increasingly for economic gain and our farms are forced more into exploitive mass production. Not good for us or the environment.
It is much smarter to preserve what we have left than rebuild something we have destroyed.
Al
100% on the money Geoffrey.
We need to preserve our old growth forests along with our oceans. We are only just starting to understand the symbiotic relationships between all manner of life in our soil. It is amazing, complex and critical to our life on earth. Planting tree plantations is a waste of time except for those wanting to exploit our soil further. As you suggest Geoffrey, we should explore the wonders of our natural world to better understand its processes and help preserve it for the future benefit of all. There is definitely healing in nature and we are only just touching the surface of it.
Cheers
Al