Conservation / Tree Health

By Jake Buehler

Earth’s oldest, knotted and scarred pine trees are a boon for forest life.

These old mountain pines (Pinus uncinata) offer food and shelter for lichens and insects not just because they’re old, but also because of what’s allowed them to grow so old in the first place, researchers report February 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings highlight the broader importance of big, old trees, and suggest threats to their survival from development, fire or climate change could deliver irreparable harm in certain ecosystems.

by Jennifer Opel, Bayreuth University

When a tree is surrounded by many similar individuals, its mortality increases, which is probably caused by specialized pathogens or herbivores. This effect occurs in forests all over the world, but is more pronounced in rare tropical tree species, which could contribute to the astonishing tree species diversity of tropical forests.

by Fauna & Flora

Fauna & Flora's in-country partner in Honduras has discovered a new species of magnolia. Named in honor of two prominent Honduran conservationists, Magnolia ciroorum was found in Pico Bonito National Park during ongoing fieldwork to document and safeguard the threatened tree species within this globally important haven of biodiversity.

To date, just five individual trees of this new species have been identified, making it incredibly rare and eligible for Critically Endangered status on the IUCN Red List.

There are about 60,000 species of trees on Earth, and about 1 in 3 is at risk of extinction, according to a 2021 report from Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Among them: the Magnolia fraseri — commonly known as mountain magnolia. Native to southwestern Virginia, they are seemingly unable to adapt fast enough to habitat loss.

Now two western Massachusetts researchers are taking steps locally to save the Appalachian tree.

By Ankush Banerjee

Climate change mitigation is very much like your typical school group project: everyone's involved, but only a handful are putting in the appropriate amount of work; there's so much to do, yet barely any time or money to do it. In the face of such restricted resources, you have to pick and choose your battles to maximise the end results.

By University College London

A major international collaboration of 356 scientists led by UCL researchers has found almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world's tropical forests.

Southern staples like magnolia trees and camellias may now be able to grow without frost damage in once-frigid Boston.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ” plant hardiness zone map ” was updated Wednesday for the first time in a decade, and it shows the impact that climate change will have on gardens and yards across the country.

by Frontiers

To slow the effects of climate change, conserve biodiversity, and meet the sustainable development goals, replanting trees is vital. Restored forests store carbon within the forest's soil, shrubs, and trees. Mixed forests are especially effective at carbon storage, as different species with complementary traits can increase overall carbon storage.

Botanist and broadcaster, James Wong, joins Forestry England at Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest in Kent today to help plant six critically endangered Wollemi pine trees. The planting event is the first stage of an international conservation effort to establish a flourishing, genetically diverse population of these rare trees across the world.