The largest trees don’t just mitigate against climate change – they support indigenous people and iconic African wildlife, according to scientists from Scotland, the USA and Republic of Congo.
New research based in the Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park brings new light to the important role enormous trees play in the global ecosystem. Larger and more diverse than previously recorded, they are recognised for their efficiency in removing carbon from the atmosphere and supporting local human and animal populations.
“Large trees, towering over the land for generations, have always provoked awe,” said study author, David Harris. “However, there is now a growing awareness of their importance in our future on this planet.”
“Conserving our largest trees helps in the fight against the twin global challenges of climate change and species extinction. Not only do they capture carbon, an important factor in mitigating against rising carbon dioxide levels, but they are also vital to the wellbeing of local people. Almost half of the trees we found provided nutrients from oil-rich seeds and honey to edible caterpillars and symbiotic fungi.”
Noé Madingou preparing to measure the diameter of a Sterculia oblonga tree above the buttresses.
Sydney T. Ndolo Ebika, a co-author of this study, added: “The Congo Basin is also home to large mammals such as forest elephants, western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. These ‘megafauna’ or large animals rely on the largest trees for food, shelter and protection, so the protection and conservation of these big forest trees is crucial to the survival of these iconic species.”
The study took place in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), part of the Sangha Trinational that was declared a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in 2012.
While previous research examined trees in plots of only one hectare in size, this ambitious study widened the scope of the research to thirteen plots, each of which was 10 hectares in size. The scientists found more than one hundred species of trees greater than eighty centimetres in diameter, the most abundant of which was the Sapele tree, Entandrophragma cylindricum. The Sapele, used in global timber markets as an alternative to mahogany, is now listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A Sapele tree measuring over 2 m in diameter, at the white line which is 4.3 m above the ground.
“The wellbeing of wildlife, forests and local human populations are inextricably linked in the forests of northern Congo,” study co-author David B. Morgan explained. “Long-term research studies like this one are critical for identifying threats and developing policies to address them.”
The global scientific community has started to recognise the importance of big trees in a healthy ecosystem, but we have much more to learn about their effects on our planet. This new study provides new evidence of the importance of these giants of our forests, and the vital importance of protecting our protectors.
Read the paper: Harris, DJ, Ndolo Ebika, ST, Sanz, CM, Madingou, MPN, Morgan, DB. Large trees in tropical rain forests require big plots. Plants, People, Planet. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10194
Taken from the original press release by Suzie Huggins, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, with minor edits.
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