Adonis, the oldest tree in Europe, has 1075 years – La Nacion Costa Rica

 Updated August 22, 2016 at 02:31 pm
 

San José

Your name is Adonis – like that character in Greek mythology who was hopelessly beautiful – and has 1,075 years.

This is a pine in the Balkans that was discovered in the highlands of northern Greece and a team of scientists from the University of Stockholm (Sweden), University of Mainz (Germany) and the University of Arizona (United States) concluded that it is the oldest tree in Europe.

“it’s really remarkable that this complex giant organism and has survived for so long in an inhospitable and in a territory that had the mark of human civilization for over 3,000 years environment, “said Paul J. Krusic scientist at the University of Stockholm and leader of the expedition that discovered the tree.

according to the researchers, this is one of about 12 individuals millennial age that inhabit the mountains of Pindos, Greece.

” many years ago, I read about this forest so interesting in Greece. in our research, we try to determine long chronologies to build a climate history. Thus, find as old trees are still alive is one of our motivations, “said Krusic.

To determine the exact age of Adonis, experts used techniques of dendrochronology, science that deals with the dating of the growth rings of trees .

” what we do is extract a core of wood, from the outside to the center. The core of this tree was a meter and had 1075 annual rings, “said Krusic.

Scientists expect annual variations in tree rings as this can provide information about changes in climatic and environmental conditions for thousands of years.

“I am impressed as within the context of Western civilization this tree has been influenced by intense human action. He survived the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Many things happened that could have caused their destruction; however, this forest has remained almost unchanged for over a thousand years, “he added the researcher.

The biological expeditions that led to these findings were developed by the Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO, for its acronym in English), which studies the effects of climate change on the environment and human Mediterranean

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ansolano@nacion.com

Reporter

Journalist in the Global Village section. Degree in Mass Communication at the University Federada. Writes about art, culture and science.