This Might Be the World’s Oldest Tree. And It Could Die of Thirst

The Patagonian cypress known as Lañilawal or Alerce Milenario may be the oldest tree on earth. One researcher estimates that it sprouted over 5,000 years ago, long before the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.

The age estimate has not yet been verified, and other scientists are skeptical that it will. Regardless, life in Chile’s Alerce Costello National Park may end without further protection. Barichivich’s grandfather, Aníbal Henríquez, who later became Alerce Costero’s first park manager, discovered Rani Lawal in the 1970s. “Even though it’s a protected area, [the tree] It’s not necessarily protected,” says Baricivic, an indigenous Chilean.

Ranilawal, named after the word for the place in the indigenous Mapdungun language, is under stress from tourism and warmer and drier climate patterns, Balicivic says. (Alerce means “larch” in Spanish.)

At 28 meters tall and 4.2 meters wide with a torso, Rani Lawal-like giants are endurance athletes in nature who outlast their peers and adapt to myriad threats, says Barychevich. He adds that preserving these trees is important to understanding how they survive for so long.

Officially, the oldest tree on earth is Methuselah, species bristle pine. longevity pine According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they live in California’s Inyo National Forest and are at least 4,789 years old. Lanila vulture (Fitzroya Cupresoid) may be older. In 2022, Barichivich and his colleagues told reporters that they had collected a core of his 40% diameter from Ranilawal, which has 2,400 annual rings. Barićićić estimates, given historical climate data and the age of other Allerce trees, that he calculates an 80% chance that this tree is over 5,000 years old, and that he probably has 5,484 years old. I found it to be about a year old.

The researchers have yet to publish their results in a peer-reviewed journal, and many scientists are skeptical of the extreme times. Determining the age of the oldest trees is not easy, he said. Trees can produce multiple rings a year or go on for years without rings, and these counting errors can add up over centuries, Cannon says. The old wood in the center can rot and erase years of history. To measure trees, researchers must be able to obtain a complete core to the center of the trunk.

“Only a small portion of Elder flora [old trees] It meets that measurement requirement,” says Jared Farmer, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book. Elder Flora: A Modern History of Old Trees (Basic Book, 2022). “But I’m not sure numerical champions should be so important. Almost everywhere there are long-lived plants that deserve protection and care.”

At nearly 2,400 years old, Rani Lawal would rank among the top 12 oldest trees in the world. These old trees have two important characteristics, he says Mr. Barichivich. Too fast growth stresses the tree and makes it difficult for the plant to move nutrients from the roots to the branches. As old Patagonian cypress wood dies, it becomes filled with tannins and other compounds that help prevent rotting, says Barycivic. (The sequoia tree is also a strong, tannin-rich wood that can live for over 2,000 years.)

Trees are surprisingly malleable, says Cannon. His one of the ways they adapt is through epigenetics. As trees grow, they can accumulate changes in gene expression that are passed on to offspring. The tree’s DNA remains the same, but changes occur in the regulatory molecules surrounding the DNA that determine whether a particular gene is translated into protein.

This is one way ancient trees increase the genetic diversity of forests, says Cannon. Another thing is that these old trees have seen it all. Forests may not have experienced severe drought in centuries, but the 600-year-old trees that took root during the last drought may be particularly adapted to those conditions. . any of its descendants.

Drought is now a major threat to Ranilawal, Barićevich said. Overall, southern Chile’s climate tends to be warm and dry. A viewing platform just two meters from the tree covers most of its active root system. Barichivich and his colleagues found that the platform blocks about 50% of the precipitation that reaches Ranilawal’s roots. “We may need to water the trees in the near future,” he says.

Barichivich has asked the Chilean government to seek the inclusion of Rani Lawal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Park officials limit visits near the trees to protect the tree’s root system, but the platform must be moved far away and protective netting must be installed to deter intruders. he says Barichivich. “Protecting this natural treasure is our responsibility in that part of the world, and Chile as a country really should,” he says. “Because it’s part of our identity.”