Giant tree over 5,000 years old, trunk diameter 4m, dozens of people can't hug it

A giant tree over 5,000 years old, over 28m tall, located deep in the forest in Chile, contains valuable information related to the ability to adapt to climate change.

Methuselah, a massive pine tree estimated to be 4,853 years old in eastern California, holds the world record for the oldest tree. However, this position is being threatened by a giant cypress deep in the forests of Santiago, Chile.

It is the Alerce Milenario, a cypress of the Fitzroya cupressoides family, endemic to southern South America. The giant tree has a diameter of more than 4m and a height of 28m, much older than the Methuselah pine.

Giant tree over 5000 years old, trunk diameter 4m, dozens of people cannot hug

The oldest tree in the world?

People affectionately call the giant tree "Great-Grandfather". Antonio Lara, a researcher at the Austral University, Argentina, a member of the team that measured the tree's age, said the tree is more than 5,000 years old.

He and Jonathan Barichivich, a scientist in Chile, conducted further in-depth research on the giant tree. Jonathan said that the giant tree was very familiar to him, since his childhood, he was taken to the forest to play around the tree.

During the research, he and his colleagues extracted samples from the giant tree, but because the trunk was too thick, they could not reach the middle part, according to Economictimes.

"The chance that the tree is more than 5,000 years old is 80%. There is only a 20% chance that the tree is younger than that," he said.

Guinness World Records is conducting tests to confirm whether this is the world's oldest tree.

Who was the first person to find the giant tree?

Anibal Henriquez, a forest ranger working in Alerce Costero National Park, accidentally discovered the tree in 1972 while patrolling the forest. He died of a heart attack 16 years later while on horseback patrol.

"He didn't want to reveal the information to the public because he knew the tree was very valuable," said his daughter, Nancy Henríquez.

Scientist Jonathan Barichivich is the grandson of Anibal Henriquez. He is still doing a lot of research on this giant tree. He said that this is not just a competition to get into the world record book, the "Great Grandfather" tree also brings a lot of valuable information for science.

"The tree has a special historical significance. It is a symbol of adaptation, the best athlete in the natural world. If it disappears, so will the important key to how life adapts to climate change on Earth," he said.

The rings around the tree's trunk reveal information about the rains, droughts, earthquakes, fires or any "trauma" it has experienced, throughout its more than 5,000-year history.

Initially, information about the giant tree was kept secret from tourists . However, after the information was revealed, tourists from all over the world flocked here to see the giant tree with their own eyes. They walked through the forest for hours to reach the location of the cypress tree.

Tourists take pictures, walk around the tree, and even peel the bark off to take home as souvenirs. For many years, its thick trunk has been cut down by people to build houses and make furniture. This endangers the tree.

Later, authorities had to increase security personnel to protect the tree and limit human access.

According to vietnamnet.vn

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