Old Tjikko
Old Tjikko is a 9550 year old Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) that grows in the mountains of Fulufjället National Park in the Swedish province of Dalarna . The area belongs to the municipality of Älvdalen and is five kilometers east of the Norwegian border. Old Tjikko is the oldest living individual clone tree. But there are examples of even older clone colonies . These are several trees that are connected by a common root system, such as Pando , whose root system is estimated to be over 80,000 years old.
The age of the tree was determined by radiocarbon dating the root system under the tree, not dendrochronology or counting the annual rings . The trunk itself is only estimated to be a few hundred years old. But the tree as a whole has survived much longer through subsidence , i.e. the killing of roots of a branch that touches the ground, or through vegetative propagation , i.e. the regrowth of a new trunk from the still living root system when the trunk dies.
The oldest non-cloned tree in the world with a known location, the age of which could be verified by dendrochronology, is a 5062 year old (based on 2012) long-lived pine in the White Mountains (California) . Vegetative propagation is common in many plants, for example the creosote bush , whose “ King Clone ” specimen is estimated to be approximately 12,000 years old based on its growth rate. Many other plants use this mechanism exclusively or in connection with sexual reproduction , but dating or estimating the age of these organisms is without specific evidence, e.g. B. old roots, old remains, constant growth rates, not possible.
Discovery and details
Old Tjikko is estimated to be at least 9,550 years old, making it the oldest known individual clone tree. He is 5 m high. Presumably, the tree initially grew as a Krummholz formation to withstand the extreme environmental conditions in which it grew. During the warming of the last century, the tree changed into the normal tree formation. Leif Kullman , a professor of physical geography at Umeå University , discovered the tree. He attributes the growth spurt to global warming . He named the tree "Old Tjikko" after his late dog.
The visible tree trunk is still relatively young, but it belongs to a much older root system, the development of which goes back thousands of years. The tree has survived for so long through cloning processes that many tree species can use. While the tree trunk is only about 600 years old, the tree's root system remains intact and a new trunk can form. In addition, heavy snow masses can push the lower branches of the tree to the ground, where they can put down roots (so-called sinkers) and thus survive to grow again in the next year. Other trees such as the coastal redwood and the giant arborvitae are also known to reproduce through subsidence.
The age of the tree has been determined by radiocarbon dating of the root system. Root areas were found that were 375, 5,660, 9,000 and 9,550 years old. Radiocarbon dating is not accurate enough to the exact year in which the tree sprang from his seed to determine, but due to the estimated age this must at about 7,550 v. Have been. In comparison, the history of writing (and thus the written tradition ) did not begin until the 4th millennium BC. . AD started. Researchers have found a cluster of about 20 other spruce trees in the same area, all over 8,000 years old.
Previous researchers have suggested that the Norway spruce is a species that came to Sweden relatively late. Theories have suggested that she immigrated to the region around 2000 years ago. Specimens much older than 10,000 years should be virtually impossible in Sweden because the area was firmly in the grip of a global ice age until about 11,000 years ago during the Pleistocene .
Conservation agencies are considering building a fence around the tree to protect it from potential trophy hunters and vandals.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swedish spruce sets age world record. In: spiegel.de. Retrieved January 7, 2012 .
- ↑ The oldest tree in the world. In: scienceticker.info. Retrieved October 17, 2009 .
- ↑ World's oldest living tree discovered in Sweden. (No longer available online.) In: Umeå University. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008 ; Retrieved April 17, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research: Database of ancient trees (January 2013)
- ↑ a b Landau, Elizabeth: World's oldest tree points to global warming impact , CNN . Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ^ A b Owen, James: Oldest Living Tree Found in Sweden . National Geographic . Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ↑ Swedes find 'world's oldest tree' , BBC News . April 17, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ↑ World's Oldest Tree Discovered? . Western Institute for Study of the Environment. April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
- ↑ World's oldest living tree discovered in Sweden . Umeå University . Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ↑ Kirkebøen, Stein Erik: Verdens eldste tre (Norwegian) . In: Aftenposten , April 24, 2010, p. 14. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ Highfield, Roger: World's oldest tree discovered in Sweden , Telegraph Media Group. April 17, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
Coordinates: 61 ° 35 ′ 0 ″ N , 12 ° 40 ′ 0 ″ E