Africa's oldest baobab trees are dying at an unprecedented rate, and climate change may be to blame
Baobab trees — an icon of the African continent and the heart of many traditional African remedies and folklore — are dying across the continent, and scientists are trying to understand why. A study found eight of the 13 oldest trees in Africa have died over the past decade.
Africa's oldest baobab trees are dying at an unprecedented rate, and climate change may be to blame Baobab trees — an icon of the African continent and the heart of many traditional African remedies and folklore — are dying across the continent, and scientists are trying to understand why. A study found eight of the 13 oldest trees in Africa have died over the past decade. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://usat.ly/2JAgnPj
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY Published 2:12 p.m. ET June 11, 2018 | Updated 2:34 p.m. ET June 11, 2018
Students gather around a baobab tree in 2007 to pray in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal. Africa's most iconic trees are dying off, and scientists suspect climate change.(Photo: Georges Gobet, AFP/Getty Images)
Baobab trees — an icon of the African continent and the heart of many traditional African remedies and folklore — are dying across the continent, and scientists are trying to understand why.
A study published Monday found eight of the 13 oldest trees in Africa have died over the past decade, and the authors suggest climate change may affect the ability of the baobab to survive.
"The deaths of the majority of the oldest and largest African baobabs over the past 12 years is an event of an unprecedented magnitude," the study authors said. "These deaths were not caused by an epidemic, and there has also been a rapid increase in the apparently natural deaths of many other mature baobabs."
Baobabs — also known as "dead-rat" trees after the shape of their fruit — are among the most distinctive plants in the world, featuring stout, massive, branchless trunks that can look like pillars.
The study's lead author, Adrian Patrut, a chemist at Romania's Babeș-Bolyai University, told NPR that "such a disastrous decline is very unexpected. It's a strange feeling, because these are trees which may live for 2,000 years or more, and we see that they're dying one after another during our lifetime. It's statistically very unlikely."
Using radiocarbon dating, the researchers analyzed more than 60 of the largest and potentially oldest baobab trees in Africa from 2005 to 2017. They were surprised that most of the oldest and biggest died within those 12 years.
Overall, five of the six largest baobabs either died or their oldest parts significantly deteriorated.
Man-made climate change is a likely suspect, scientists said. Increased temperature and drought are the primary threats, Patrut told BBC News. Researchers said further research is necessary to support or refute that idea.
A baobab tree is surrounded by reeds and stagnant water in an area outside the "Avenue of the Baobabs", a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, in 2011. (Photo: AFP, AFP/Getty Images)
Thomas Lovejoy, an environmental scientist at George Mason University, who was not involved in the study, told The Washington Post that "something obviously is going on in almost selectively affecting the largest and oldest. I do think climate is a likely culprit, but they don't actually present any evidence of how climate is changing where these ancient trees occur."
Whatever the cause, these mysterious deaths will have a big impact on the southern African landscape. In addition to shade, the tree's bark, roots, seeds and fruit are food sources for many animals, according to Science magazine.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature Plants.
Climate change could be killing Africa's iconic baobab trees
A Baobab tree grows next to the Sendou power station, a 125 megawatt coal-fired plant, in Sendou, Senegal on Feb. 23, 2019. Nic Bothma, EPA-EFE
People shelter from the sun under a Baobab tree in the Mindara neighborhood in Bissau on Mardi Gras on February 13, 2018. Boabab trees Ñ an icon of the African continent and the heart of many traditional African remedies and folklore Ñ are dying across the continent, and scientists are trying to understand why. Xaume Olleros, AFP/Getty Images
A tourist takes a photograph in the "Avenue of the Baobabs", a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, on Nov. 7, 2011. The "Avenue of the Baobabs" was designated as a protected zone in 2007 after a sugar factory flooded the area with water for several years and farmers started cultivating rice on the lands, causing ancestral baobab trees to rot and fall. The site was restored through conservation efforts and the active participation of the local "Fanamby" organization which worked on teaching dry-land farming practices to families living nearby and started a small outlet for making and selling handicrafts. AFP/Getty Images
A baobab tree is surrounded by reeds and stagnant water in an area outside the "Avenue of the Baobabs", a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, on Nov. 7, 2011. A new study finds that 9 of the 13 oldest trees in Africa have died over the past decade, and the authors suggest that climate change may be affecting the ability of the baobab to survive. AFP/Getty Images
People walk along the "Avenue of the Baobabs", a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, on Nov. 7, 2011. The trees may live for 2,000 years or more. AFP/Getty Images
A man walks along the "Avenue of the Baobabs", a famous natural reserve in western Madagascar, near Morondava, on Nov. 7, 2011. AFP/Getty Images
In this file photo taken on October 26, 2010 Maasai people gather under a baobab tree at Oltukai, 62 miles west of Arusha, Tanzania, during a political rally organized by the incumbent Monduli Member of Parliament. Mysterious deaths are striking the largest and oldest African baobab trees, reports a paper published online this week in Nature Plants. Baobabs also known as dead-rat trees, after the shape of their fruit are among the most distinctive plants in the world, with stout, massive, branchless trunks that can look like pillars. African baobabs can live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and can contain hundreds of square meters of wood and some have massive hollow centers. Tony Karumba, AFP/Getty Images
Two Baobab trees at the Pafuri game reserve on July 23, 2010 in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in South Africa spanning 19,000 square kilometers and is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Cameron Spencer, Getty Images
A giant Baobab tree at the Pafuri game reserve on July 22, 2010 in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The deaths of the trees will have a big impact on the southern African landscape, as in addition to shade, the treeÕs bark, roots, seeds, and fruit are key food sources for many animals, according to Science magazine. Cameron Spencer, Getty Images
People walk down a road lined with Baobab trees, also known as the "tree of life", in Fandene on July 25, 2008. In Senegal, villagers have always known about the health benefits of baobab fruit, which only now have been discovered by Europe in what could spell magic for localities like Fandene. Locals use nearly every part of the tree, whose processed fruit was approved for European import last month. Georges Gobet, AFP/Getty Images
Students gather around a baobab tree on August 29, 2007, to pray at the Sand School of dance in Toubab Dialaw. Georges Gobet, AFP/Getty Images
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2JAgnPj