2,624-Year-Old Tree, Discovered In A North Carolina Swamp – What Could Kill It?
There’s a tree that has been growing in North Carolina for a really long time. Live Science explains why this tree is so important and what could eventually kill it.
A bald cypress tree dating over 2,600 years ago, discovered
A new study that has been published in the journal Environmental Research Communications, scientists studying tree rings in North Carolina’s Black River swampland have discovered a bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum) that’s at least 2,624 years old, reports the online publication.
They also write that this makes the tree one of the oldest non-clonal, sexually reproducing trees in the world.
It’s interesting to learn that clonal trees, which are vast colonies of genetically identical plants that grow from a single ancestor, can live for tens of thousands of years.
The online publication also wants to make sure that readers understand just how old the tree is and they make an analogy saying that the tree is older than the English language and Christianity itself.
Some earlier research has discovered a few trees which were between 1,000 and 1,650 years old.
“Because we have cored and dated only 110 living bald cypress at this site, a small fraction of the tens of thousands of trees still present in these wetlands, there could be several additional individual bald cypress over 2,000-years old along the approximately 100 km (62 miles) reach of Black River,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Climate change could kill such treasures
The online publication praises the discovery but also tells readers what’s the biggest threat to such treasures: man and climate change.
Live Science notes that even though these ancient trees are living in protected land that’s owned by The Nature Conservancy’s North Carolina chapter, they are in great danger.
The threats mentioned above include the ongoing logging and biomass farming operations, industrial pollution and climate change.
I have been blogging and posting articles for over eight years, but my passion for writing dates back in 2000. I am especially enthusiastic about technology, science, and health-related issues. When I’m not researching and writing the latest news, I’m either watching sci-fi and horror movies or checking out places worth visiting and building deep memories for later in life. I believe in empathy and continually improving myself.
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