The hundred-year-old trees have been capable of adapting for decades to all kinds of climatic calamities or human aggressions and their survival is reflected in the scars on their bark.
They have crooked and spiral-shaped trunks;
slow but steady growth;
and they have hard ramifications and thick lateral shoots, with fewer leaves.
And they even stand out for surviving by keeping parts of their body dead.
These are the ailments of age that are repeated in all the centennial specimens studied in recent field work in the Pyrenees.
The common characteristics of twelve trees over 600 years old found in that study, which had withstood the passage of time and the climatic conditions of a hostile environment, reveal the secret of their longevity.
The scientist Ot Pasques Vila combed an area of the Natural Park of the High Pyrenees in Catalonia of approximately 1,300 trees, where black mountain pines (
Pinus uncinata
) grew, most of which are about 200 years old.
But he with careful observation he managed to locate that dozen that had lived more than six centuries.
The study of old trees that he carried out together with Sergi Munné-Bosch, also from the University of Barcelona, shows how climate change is recorded in their arches and serves to delve into the possible mechanisms underlying the aging of centenary trees .
Munné-Bosch, who leads the Antiox research team, details a common characteristic shared by the subjects analyzed: in old trees the lateral branches are similar to the main trunk, while in most pines the central log is more robust than its branches. .
Pasques considers that “its recognizable appearance is the price to pay for surviving time;
getting old does not cause them death, but they do pay for the effects”.
A tree survives a lightning strike!
As if it were simple or the most normal thing in the world;
that is his greatness
Munné-Bosch, University of Barcelona
The consequences of advancing age observable in ancient trees, such as the spiral-shaped trunks and twisted branches, have a double interpretation for Munné-Bosch: "It depends on how you look at it, they are like that because sometimes they have reached older ages. of 500 years”.
What at first could be interpreted as a negative aspect, in reality for the researcher is "the ability to adapt to changes in the environment, thanks to their plasticity, which allows them that longevity", he qualifies.
The location of the scientific study was chosen because it is in a cold and harsh climate, in addition to the height and northern part of the mountain range, where the relationship of old trees with their environment can be studied, the specialty of these scientists.
Ot Pasques Vila, the main researcher, next to a hundred-year-old pine from the study, which shows a large perimeter and plasticity.Ot Pasques Vila
This study on the black pines of the Pyrenees provides new information about the physiological markers of longevity in centenary trees, at a biochemical and morphological level.
Juan Carlos Linares Calderón, a researcher at the Pablo de Olavide University who has not participated in this research, celebrates the work for its scientific value.
For Linares, the study brings together complementary areas of knowledge by analyzing "the adaptive capacity of some fascinating organisms that challenge our mental schemes."
When trying to understand the old age of these specimens, it is convenient to get rid of human preconceptions, according to specialists.
"You can't look at plants with the animal model, you have to get it out of your head," sums up Julio Camarero Martínez, an ecologist at the CSIC's Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, who also did not participate in the study.
The expert explains that "a tree works just as old, the same with 50 as with 500 years" and that these specimens are capable of getting rid of dead tissue and continue to remain active.
“They grow more slowly, which is a characteristic of longevity;
the size makes them less efficient,” he adds.
You can't look at the plants with the animal model, you have to get it out of your head
Julio Camarero Martínez, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology of the CSIC
Dendrochronology is the science of dating the age of trees by the growth pattern of their rings.
But in this case, the authors undertook to carry out a non-destructive sampling with the centenary pines: for this they measured the perimeter of the trunk (more than one meter) to infer the size, and then compared it with the growth record of other pines. of Mountain.
“We can be wrong for a couple of years, but not much;
10 years are irrelevant in unique centenary trees”, says Munné-Bosch.
In addition, they corroborated their data with previous information collected by other previous scientific models, such as carbon 14 or sampling with a more invasive cylindrical wood core.
“The wound that remains in the tree heals”, clarifies Camarero Martínez, author of many dates and an expert in the technique.
The trees reach a quasi-millennial age despite the stress caused by adverse environmental conditions.
Suffering storms, fires, snow avalanches, the impact of lightning or human aggressions for centuries causes the evolutionary selection of the most resistant, according to the study.
"A little stress improves longevity," says Munné-Bosch ironically, but "only in some species, such as altitude or the fact that the vegetation is oriented to the north."
A giant hundred-year-old pine made of dead wood and tissue, only a small part of its structure lives.OT PASQUES VILA
Stress is everything that limits the optimal development of an organism, says Linares.
For example, the growth of a conifer with “Christmas tree”-style branches: “In an idyllic, secluded, stress-free environment, it would make a perfect cone.”
The effect of age can be observed with the naked eye in the trees analyzed: "The wide and elongated branches and the trunks twisted in a spiral, and their growth as stunted and deformed, very strange," enumerates Camarero Martínez.
One aspect highlighted by the authors of the research is resilience, which reflects how tree plants survive destructive episodes.
Something similar to humans: not only must the patient resist the disease itself, but also the subsequent adaptation and how he copes with the sequelae is vital.
That is “the greatness of trees, they survive a lightning strike!” comments Munné-Bosch, “as if it were simple or the most normal thing in the world”.
In the specimens studied by the Antiox team, they also record the ability of trees to manage limited resources.
"In the old trees you can see their plastic growth, through independent modules," sums up Pasques, as "a symbol of their great adaptability and the survival of this centenary species."
The Natural Park of the High Pyrenees where the study on the hundred-year-old black mountain pines ('Pinus uncinata') has been carried out.Ot Pasques Vila
The function of moving nutrients to another part of the tree can even leave some sections of its own organism dead.
"The plant itself allocates resources and prioritizes some modules over others, such as the energy reserve against growth, which would be secondary," says Linares.
And the extreme longevity would be a consequence of low consumption.
For the Pablo de Olavide University professor, this window on cell aging allows us to discover the biological structures that are capable of resisting for hundreds of years: "It is the process diametrically opposed to cancer, uncontrolled cell growth when control mechanisms fail."
The trees are the oldest individuals of which we have records, especially those that have grooves in their barks over the centuries.
These specimens for which the "suit is too small" not only form ecosystems, but are "habitats with their particularities".
Insects, lichens, mosses and other animals inhabit them and "they even have their own climate", says the researcher.
The scientists consulted point out that the study of biodiversity must take into account the preservation of old growth forests and old trees.
Their study is also key to improving conservation.
Ancient forests are a vanishing world, and "we are still in the infancy of understanding their importance," laments Munné-Bosch.
And Pasques concludes: “A mature forest, in which these hundred-year-old trees have remained alive, must be preserved due to its value that cannot be replaced by any other tree.
His loss is irreplaceable."
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