If humans don’t act, we will lose four million years of forest history, scientists say.
Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania discovered that the dominant tree group in the Kalimantan rainforest is at least four million years old. NDTV writes about it.
The researchers studied the fossilized leaves and thus realized that the modern island landscape in Southeast Asia is similar to that existing during the Pliocene. That is, from 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago.
It has been found that about 270 species of dipterocarp tree live on this island. This is more than half of the total number of species in the world.
“This is the first demonstration that the characteristic dominant life form of Kalimantan and all of Asia’s humid tropics, the dipterocarp trees, are not only present, but really dominant. We have found more dipterocarp tree fossils than ever before. other plant groups, ”Peter Wilf said.
In addition, this species is one of the tallest tropical trees in the world. Some can reach heights of almost 100 m.
However, approximately 89% of the 460 Asian dipterocarp species are currently known as ‘Near Threatened’, while 57% are ‘Endangered, Critically Endangered or Extinct’.
“If people don’t act, we will lose four million years of forest history,” the scientists conclude.
Recall that earlier, using laser scanning, scientists calculated the exact biomass of California sequoias – the largest and tallest trees in the world.
Traces of ancient forests found in the USA
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Source: korrespondent
