Conservation / Tree Health

On July 25 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed picked up a spade and started to dig a hole. When he was finished, he gently lowered a sapling into the hole he had dug, and then covered its roots with the loose soil. The tree that he had just planted was one of 350 million planted in Ethiopia that day, part of an unprecedented push to reforest the country — and, in the process, save the world from the climate apocalypse.

Unfortunately, it’s a little more complex than that.

(IUCN)

Over half (58%) of Europe’s endemic trees are threatened with extinction, according to assessments of the state of the continent’s biodiversity published today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The introduction of invasive species, unsustainable logging and urban development are key threats causing the decline of tree species such as the horse-chestnut across Europe.

By Steffan Messenger

Studying the rings inside oak trees has allowed scientists to produce one of the most detailed records yet of how the UK's climate has changed over the last millennium.

It reveals a picture of summer rainfall stretching back more than 800 years. Periods of prolonged extreme weather coincided with historical accounts of famines and droughts.

“Toward the Metacollection: Coordinating conservation collections to safeguard plant diversity”, is a publication that is a result of a three-year grant, “Safeguarding Plant Collections”, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It demonstrates the power of the botanic garden network and the role they play in collective conservation. Overall, stopping plant extinction.

By Elizabeth Pennisi

The biggest trees, standing tall through storms and harsh winters, may look invincible. But a series of recent studies analyzing the effects of lightning, drought, and invasive pests on forests indicates that for trees, size is not strength, and forest giants are disproportionately vulnerable.

By Jeremie Richard

Before being colonised by the Vikings, Iceland was lush with forests but the fearsome warriors razed everything to the ground and the nation is now struggling to reforest the island.

The country is considered the least forested in Europe; indeed, forests in Iceland are so rare, or their trees so young, that people often joke that those lost in the woods only need to stand up to find their way. However, it wasn't always that way.

By Erik Stokstad

By Jane Flanagan

An invasive beetle from Asia that has infested trees lining the streets of Johannesburg’s most exclusive suburbs is sweeping across South Africa, and scientists are powerless to stop it. The only defense is to cut down and burn infected trees in the city, one of the largest urban forests in the world.

By Lore Croghan