The largest and oldest trees in the world are in danger of dying out unless public policy changes to better protect them, according to The Telegraph.
"Just as large-bodied animals such as elephants, tigers, and cetaceans have declined drastically in many parts of the world, a growing body of evidence suggests that large old trees could be equally imperiled," David Lindenmayer, from the team whose research was recently published in the journal Science, told The Telegraph. Reasons for the tree deaths include "rapid climate change," drought, high temperatures, rampant logging and agricultural land clearing.
Tree species in peril include mountain ash in Australia, pine trees and California redwoods in America, and baobabs in Tanzania. The researchers found "alarming losses" of big trees, ranging from 100 to 300 years old, at all latitudes in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, South America, Latin America and Australia. Not only are more trees dying in forest fires but the trees are also dying at "at 10 times the normal rate in non-fire years."
