Project seeks to unveil age of the largest trees found in the Amazon

Daniel Amorim – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – For years, researchers have been trying to find out the exact age of the largest trees found in the Amazon: the red angelin (Diniza excelsa duck), with a height of 88.5 meters, equivalent to a 30-story building. In second place in the ranking comes the largest species ever identified in Brazil, popularly known as the Pará nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa), with a height of 66 meters.

Both species are located on the border between the states of Pará and Amapá. An unprecedented study conducted by the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amapá (Ifap), with support and funding from the University of Arkansas, USA, is about to unravel the mystery.

From January 15 to 21, members of the Giant Amazon Trees Monitoring project conducted an expedition to collect samples from the trees. The team went to the Iratapuru River Sustainable Development Reserve (RDSI) and the Cajari River Extractive Reserve (Resex), both in the extreme south of Amapá, to obtain materials that would allow them to accurately define the age of the largest Amazon trees, as well as those of other species found in the region.

The research points to the presence of minerals in the earth that may be linked to the growth of the trees under study.

Longevity

“A priori, the researchers already know that these are centennial trees that are at least 150 years old”, said the project coordinator and researcher from the Laranjal do Jari campus, Diego Armando. The project members relied on the help of forestry engineering students and residents of communities near the regions of the reserves.

Defining the age of the trees may help to elucidate which factors influenced the longevity of the species. The expedition mapped and collected approximately 50 individuals or specimens of cedar and 2 of Brazil nut. According to the researchers, the collection of red angelim will be done later this month.

After evaluating the growth rings of the cedars, researcher Daniela Granato of the University of Arkansas estimated that the trees of this species surrounding the “giants” are about 150 years old. “The Amazon rainforest is estimated to have a biodiversity of 16,000 species of trees alone,” Granato said.

Sacred and medicinal

Discovered in 2019, in the State Conservation Unit of Sustainable Use State Forest of Paru (Flota do Paru), in the Lower Amazon Integration Region, in western Pará, the red angelim 88.5 meters high and 3.15 m in diameter, ranging from 400 to 600 years old, was detected in a study, which by monitoring, has mapped the giants of the forest. The tree is considered a historical monument of the forest.

The Pará nut tree, which is 66 meters high, was discovered in October 2020, during an expedition in the city of Laranjal do Jari, in the south of Amapá. Recent research suggests that adequate selenium intake is related to reduced risk of both prostate and breast cancer. The nut oil is also often used in shampoos, soaps, hair conditioners, and skin products as an excellent humectant.