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The ancient African baobab, with its distinctive swollen trunk and known as the name "tree of life", is under a new and mysterious threat, with the largest and oldest dying suddenly in recent years.
According to a study published in the scientific journal Nature Plants, nine of the 13 oldest baobabs, aged between 1,000 and 2,500 years old, have been dead for a dozen or so years.
The sudden collapse is "an event of unprecedented magnitude," the study says.
Climate change, with its increasing temperatures and growing conditions of drought, is a suspected factor but no definite cause is known
The deaths occurred in the southern African countries of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"Falling trees are located at the southern end of the distribution of baobabs, "said Stephan Woodborne, of the National Research Foundation of South Africa, author of the study.
" What we believe is that the climatic envelope in which they exist is changing, and so we are not talking about the ext massive effect of baobabs. "
Researchers observe very few juvenile trees in the affected area. mature trees are dying, "what we are probably looking at here is a change in their distribution in response to climate forcing," said Mr. Woodborne
Baobabs studies the hot, dry areas of the savanna areas traveled by elephants, rhinos and other wild animals.
Elephants help spread trees when they eat baobab fruit, with seeds that often grow in "Baobabs are obviously iconic because of their size and shape, and they are very characteristic of the African landscape, and communities use them for various reasons over time," said Mr. Woodborne.
"We find a lot of archaeological sites under these trees, and when we have trees that are over 1000 years old, we are talking about occupations that took place several hundred years ago."
Baobabs store large amounts of water in their trunks and their branches give trees their bulbous form.
Tall trees can store up to 140,000 liters (37,000 gallons) of water drawn in during the rainy season.
Thirsty elephants often strip a baobab from its bark and wood to obtain their humidity.
Trees are often revered by local communities, who sometimes gather around them to hold traditional religious ceremonies and communicate with their ancestors.
People also use baobab fruit to make beverages and mix them with milk for yogurt-like food, or just shelter in the shade of trees on a day-long day. was stifling. ", Said Anna Munzhelele, of the Pafuri region near the Limpopo River in South Africa
" We would become strong … it's like a type of medicine, we get energy . of that. "
Association of the press
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