health
A thousand years old and 20 storeys high: tracking down Taiwan’s tallest trees
The country’s biggest tree – named Heaven Sword of the Da’an River – is a carbon-storing behemoth hosting whole neighborhoods of wildlife. But this and other giant trees are under threat
TL;DR
- Taiwan's tallest tree, "Heaven Sword of the Da’an River," is an 84.1-meter-high Taiwania cryptomerioides estimated to be 1,000 years old.
- These ancient trees support complex habitats, with different species occupying distinct layers from the forest floor to the canopy.
- Tall trees are crucial for biodiversity and carbon absorption, acting as vital defenses against climate change.
- Giant trees worldwide, including Taiwan's tallest, are facing severe threats from wildfires, global heating, droughts, and extreme weather events.
- Researchers use advanced technologies like lidar, alongside traditional climbing methods, to measure and map these trees, but accuracy can be a challenge.
- Conservationists are working to protect these trees through methods like forest thinning and studying threats from pests, but more unrecorded tall trees may exist in remote areas.
- Typhoons in Taiwan are increasing in strength, making trees on steep slopes more vulnerable to floods and landslides, highlighting the precarious existence of these giants.
- The study emphasizes the importance of documenting and preserving these trees, recognizing the luck involved in their survival amidst changing environmental conditions.