Trade in Laotion crape myrtle trees, a species typically ignored by loggers, is now booming as other higher-value species like the rosewoods and balau decline in the Mekong River region, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency.
Loggers overlooked the tree in the past because of low demand and the difficulties of extracting the large tree species, which can grow to 131 feet or higher, according to the EIA. But due to the mechanization of the timber industry and a burgeoning furniture industry in China and Vietnam, the tree is being “indiscriminately and rampantly” harvested, the EIA said.
The loss of the species would have significant impact on the region’s seed-dispersing animals, like the hornbill bird, that live in the tree’s hollows and cavities that develop because of the crape myrtle’s size.
“This has obvious implications for the ecological integrity of these forests and their ability to provide important ecosystem services, such as fresh clean water,” the EIA said.
