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CROOKS CORNER, South Africa – The ancient African baobab, with its distinctive swollen trunk and known as the "tree of life", is under a new and mysterious threat, with some- some of the largest and oldest. According to a study published in the scientific journal Nature Plants, nine of the first thirteen 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 increasing drought conditions, 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. that fall are located at the southern end of the baobab distribution, "said Stephan Woodborne., a study author." What we think is that the climatic envelope in which they exist is changing, and so we are not talking about the massive extinction of baobabs. "
Juvenile trees in the affected area are very rare Woodborne said:
Baobabs study savanna expanses hot and dry in southern Africa and is often found in areas where elephants live. , rhinoceros and other wild animals. Elephants help spread trees when they eat baobab fruit, with seeds that often grow in nutritious elephant dung
"Baobabs are obviously iconic because of their size and shape and they are very characteristic of the African landscape. used them for various reasons over time, "said Woodborne." We find a lot of archaeological sites under these trees, and when we have trees that are over 1000 years old, we talk about the occupations that took place there are several hundred years. "
Baobabs store large amounts of water in their trunks and branches, giving the trees their bulbous shape.The tall trees can store up to 140 000 liters (37,000 gallons) of water drawn in during the rainy season The thirsty elephants often strip a baobab tree of its bark and wood for moisture
Trees are often revered by local communities sometimes gather around them to organize traditional religious ceremonies and communicate with their ancestors.People also use the baobab fruit to make drinks and mix them with milk for a nour rite similar to yogurt, or just shelter in the shade of trees during a sweltering summer day
"There have been no stores for a long time. said Anna Munzhelele from the Pafuri region near the Limpopo River in South Africa. "We would become strong … it's like a type of medicine, we derive energy from it."
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Kevin Sutherland, The Associated Press
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