A 19-member team finally reaches the tallest tree ever found in Amazon
Scientists have finally managed to reach the tallest tree ever found in the Amazon rainforest. It took three years of planning, five expeditions and a two-week trek through dense jungle to reach the towering tree, which is the size of a 25-storey building.
The giant tree is an Angelim Vermelho and its scientific name is Dinizia excelsa. It is 88.5 metres (290 feet) tall and 9.9 metres (32 feet) around and is the biggest ever identified in the Amazon, scientists say. Its top juts out high above the canopy in the Iratapuru River Nature Reserve in northern Brazil.
The September 12-25 expedition saw researchers travel 250 kilometres by boat up rivers with treacherous rapids, plus another 20 kilometres on foot across mountainous jungle terrain. One person on the 19-member expedition was bitten by what the team doctor believes was a poisonous spider.
Forest engineer Diego Armando Silva of Amapa Federal University, who helped organize the trip, said it was all worth it.
“It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Just divine,” Silva, 33, told AFP.
“You’re in the middle of this forest where humankind has never set foot before, with absolutely exuberant nature.”
The group camped under the the tree and collected its leaves, soil and other samples to analyse how old the tree is, why the region has so many giant trees, and how much carbon they store. Silva believes the tree is at least 400 to 600 years old.
The enormous tree was first spotted in satellite images in 2019 as part of a 3D mapping project. Later that year, researchers, academics and local guides came together for an expedition to reach the tree. But a 10-day trek proved futile as the low on supplies team soon became exhausted, with one of the team members falling ill. They had to eventually turn back.
The area is at threat of destruction since loggers are always eyeing the Angelim Vermelho wood. Besides, the Iratapuru reserve is being invaded by illegal gold miners infamous for bringing ecological destruction. Over the past three years, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased 75 per cent from the previous decade.
(With inputs from agencies)
