Month: Sep 2020

Coccoloba gigantifolia (Polygonaceae) is a newly described plant species from the Brazilian Amazon. It reportedly has the largest leaves in the world! These leaves were measured at >200 cm in length.

Botanists from the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil first encountered an individual of the unknown Coccoloba tree in 1982 while surveying the Madeira River Basin in the Brazilian Amazon.

They spotted more individuals of the plant over subsequent expeditions in the 1980s. But they couldn’t pinpoint the species at the time.

The individual trees weren’t bearing any flowers or fruits then, parts that are essential to describing a plant species, and their leaves were too large to dehydrate, press and carry back to INPA. The researchers did take notes and photographs.

In 1993, botanists managed to finally collect two large leaves from a tree in the state of Rondônia, which they then framed for public viewing at INPA.

“The species became locally famous, but due to the lack of reproductive material it could not be described as a new species for science,” Rogério Gribel, a researcher at INPA, told Mongabay in an email.

It was more than a decade later, in 2005, that Gribel and his colleague, Carlos Alberto Cid Ferreira, collected some seeds and dying flowers from a tree in Jamari National Forest.

Again, these materials weren’t good enough to describe the plant species. So they sowed the seeds at the INPA campus, grew the seedlings, and waited. Their patience bore fruit 13 years later. Literally.

The researchers say that C. gigantifolia, which grows to about 15 meters (49 feet) in height and has leaves that can reach 2.5 meters (8 feet) in length, likely has the largest known leaf among dicotyledonous plants — a large group of flowering plants that include sunflowers, hibiscus, tomatoes and roses.

These plants have seeds that can be split into two identical halves, each forming the first two embryonic leaves of the seedling, and their leaves generally have branched veins. The seeds of monocotyledonous plants, by contrast, give out a single embryonic leaf and the grown plants’ leaves have parallel veins, such as those of palm trees, grasses, orchids and bananas.

“Comparing leaf size between species is often difficult as there is a large individual variation in leaf size within the same species,“Gribel said. “It is possible that this leadership of Coccoloba gigantifolia will be challenged in the future. For example, species of Gunnera, a genus of wide distribution worldwide, also exhibit huge leaves. But the Gunnera species are not arboreal.“

Although C. gigantifolia has been known in the public and the scientific community for nearly four decades, describing it formally and giving it an official name was an essential step to complete.

“A known but undescribed species is like a person without a birth certificate or ID; it is like a person who does not formally have their identity recognised,” Gribel said. “For example, in Brazil there is currently a major effort by the scientific community to catalogue the national flora. Although known for many years, Coccoloba gigantifolia could not so far be added to the Brazilian Plant List by the scientists participating of this great initiative.”

Without a formal identity, it’s also difficult to assess the plant’s conservation status. “Initiatives to prevent its extinction are also impaired if the plant has no scientific name,” Gribel said. “Similarly, measures to regulate collection, trade, transport, planting, etc. depend on species recognition as a single taxonomic entity.”

As shown in the satellite data, these areas have experienced heavy deforestation over the past couple decades.

“The middle and low stretches of the Madeira River still have much of their forest conserved but deforestation has been growing rapidly in these areas especially in northeastern Rondônia and southern Amazonas,” Gribel said. “The Samuel Dam in the Jamari River (and possibly the Santo Antonio and Jirau Dams in the Madeira River) flooded tens of thousands of hectares of forests with Coccoloba gigantifolia and may have negatively affected the populations. The ongoing paving of the BR319 highway will increase deforestation throughout the Middle and Lower Madeira region.”

Moreover, the level of water is constantly increasing in the region, probably increasing the ‘pressure’ on Coccoloba gigantifolia.

The authors have recommended listing the new tree species Coccoloba gigantifolia as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Monga Bay

Reference ~ https://strangesounds.org/2019/12/new-tree-species-giant-leaves-brazil-amazon-photo-video.html

Melo, E. D., Ferreira, C. A. C., & Gribel, R. (2019). A new species of Coccoloba P. Browne (Polygonaceae) from the Brazilian Amazon with exceptionally large leaves. Acta Amazonica, 49(4), 324-329.

Julia Butterfly Hill is an environmental activist. She is best known for having lived in a 180 ft {55m} tall, roughly 1500 year old California Redwood tree for 738 days between 10th December 1997 and 18th December 1999. Hill lived in the tree affectionately known as Luna to prevent Pacific Lumber Company loggers for cutting it down.

In August 1996, at age 22, Hill suffered a near-fatal car crash. At the time, Hill was acting as the designated driver for a friend who had been drinking. Her friend’s car was hit from behind by a drunk driver. The steering wheel of the car penetrated Hill’s skull. It took almost a year of intensive therapy before she regained the ability to speak and walk normally. She said:

“As I recovered, I realized that my whole life had been out of balance … I had graduated from high school at 16, and had been working nonstop since then, first as a waitress, then as a restaurant manager. I had been obsessed by my career, success, and material things. The crash woke me up to the importance of the moment, and doing whatever I could to make a positive impact on the future. The steering wheel in my head, both figuratively and literally, steered me in a new direction in my life”.

After recuperating from her accident, Hill took a road trip to California and attended a reggae fundraiser to save the forests. A group of “front-liners” had been rotating tree sitters in and out of giant redwoods in Humboldt County every couple days to stave off Pacific Lumber Company loggers who were clear-cutting. Organisers wanted someone to stay in the tree for one week. “Nobody else would volunteer so they had to pick me”, said Hill.

Originally, Hill was not officially affiliated with any environmental organization, deciding by herself to undertake civil disobedience. Soon, Hill was actively supported by Earth First!, among other organizations, and by volunteers.

On 10th December 1997, Hill ascended the redwood tree Luna to a height of 180 feet (55 m).

An hour and a half after reaching the base of the tree, we got the last of the provisions up. By then it was midnight. Finally, I was able to put on the harness and ascend Luna. It seemed an exhausting eternity before I reached the top. When I finally got there, I untangled myself from the harness and looked around for a place to collapse.

Hill lived on two 6-by-6-foot (1.8 by 1.8 m) platforms for 738 days. Luna’s trunk was her sidewalk and exercise treadmill. Hill learned many survival skills while living in Luna, such as “seldom washing the soles of her feet, because the sap helped her feet stick to the branches better.” Hill used solar-powered cell phones for radio interviews, she became an “in-tree” correspondent for a cable television show, and hosted TV crews to protest old-growth clear cutting. With ropes, Hill hoisted up survival supplies brought by an eight-member support crew. To keep warm, Hill wrapped herself tight in a sleeping bag, leaving only a small hole for breathing. For meals, Hill used a single-burner propane stove. Throughout her ordeal, Hill weathered freezing rains and 40 mph (64 km/h) winds from El Niño, helicopter harassment, a ten-day siege by company security guards, and attempted intimidation by angry loggers.

A resolution was reached in 1999 when the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to preserve Luna and all trees within a 200-foot (61 m) buffer zone. In exchange, Hill agreed to vacate the tree. In addition, the $50,000 that Hill and other activists raised during the cause was given to the logging company, as stipulated by the resolution. The $50,000 Earth First! paid to Pacific Lumber was then donated to Humboldt State University as part of the agreement for research into sustainable forestry.

Vandals later cut the tree with a chainsaw. A gash in the 200-foot (61 m)-tall redwood was discovered in November 2000 by one of Hill’s supporters. Observers at the scene said the cut measured 32 inches (810 mm) deep and 19 feet (5.8 m) around the base, somewhat less than half the circumference of the tree. The gash was treated with a herbal remedy, and the tree was stabilized with steel cables. As of spring 2007, the tree was doing well with new growth each year. Caretakers routinely climb the tree to check its condition and to maintain the steel guywires.

Since her tree sit, Hill has become a motivational speaker (holding some 250 events a year), a best-selling author, In addition to writing a bestselling book, “The Legacy of Luna,”

Hill also penned an environmental handbook, “One Makes the Difference” and the co-founder of the Circle of Life Foundation (which helped organise We The Planet, an eco-friendly music tour) and the Engage Network, a nonprofit that trains small groups of civic leaders to work toward social change.

Photo by Steve Hindle

Have you ever made a “leaf face” by folding foliage in half before cutting out two eyes and a mouth? Far from those misshapen childhood creations, a Japanese artist known as lito_leafart on Instagram brings leaf art to a whole new level with his unbe-leaf-ably intricate designs. He meticulously carves out entire scenes onto the delicate, green surfaces.

From critters at the supermarket to a family of penguins atop of a turtle, lito_leafart’s cute creations are not only impressively hand-cut, but also incredibly imaginative. Each leaf design tells its own story, like a whimsical children’s book illustration that can be held in the palm of your hand. The artist holds each of his leaves to the sky before photographing it, allowing the sunlight to reveal the many tiny details.

Although each leaf will eventually wilt away, lito_leafart’s portfolio continues to grow. The talented artist—who has ADHD—makes one piece of leaf art per day, as a way to focus and calm down. Each leaf showcases his incredible patience and artistic ability.

Reference https://mymodernmet.com/leaf-art/

• Landowners who plant native trees that soak up CO2 get environmental credits
• These can be sold to companies seeking to improve their carbon footprint
• Study finds this may be more profitable than sheep farming for some farms
• Farmers with at least 25 hectares of land could turn a profit if they allowed land to naturally regenerate into woodland and were paid £3 a tonne for the credit

Sheep farmers could be better off if they abandoned their flocks and let some of their land become overgrown and returned to woodland.
Currently, many sheep farmers are reliant on Government subsidies for income and the occupation is not profitable without these payments.

But by letting farmland turn into woods, farmers would be eligible to pocket lucrative ‘credits’ afforded to landowners who allow native trees to grow.

Private companies pay out for these credits to offset their carbon emissions and meet guidelines laid out as part of the Government’s environmental prioritisation.

The study from the University of Sheffield comes as the Government shifts the post-Brexit farming payments regime away from subsidies for the amount of land farmed to paying for ‘public goods’ such as storing carbon and stopping flooding.

Livestock farming is heavily dependent on subsidies, and also generates greenhouse gas emissions, with sheep farming accounting for around one per cent of the UK’s total climate pollution, the university’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures said.

But the UK, with tree cover of 8 per cent, making it one of the least densely forested countries in Europe, has a large potential for restoring and creating woodlands to help soak up carbon emissions, the study said.
It found that farmers with at least 25 hectares of land (60 acres) could turn a profit if they allowed it to naturally regenerate into woodland and were paid as little as £3 a tonne for the carbon the woods store.

The credits could be bought by businesses or individuals who want to offset their emissions, for example from flights.

If they were sold for £15 a tonne – the current market price for carbon credits – they could make forests of any size profitable, the study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters said.

Natural regeneration would work in areas close to existing woodland which would provide seeds for the land.

If farmers had to plant trees, they would need a price of around £42 per tonne of carbon stored – although Government grants in England can cover 80 per cent of costs, which makes planting profitable from £9 a tonne, the study said.

Professor Colin Osborne, from the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study, said: ‘Sheep farming in the UK is not profitable without subsidies, but forests that sell carbon credits can be economically viable – so it makes sense for the Government to help farmers transition.

‘Using public money to actively prevent reforestation in the UK and Europe is morally questionable given the pressure western governments place on the global south to end tropical deforestation.

‘Ultimately, these come down to political questions of how we want our countryside to be used, how we value livestock production over the global costs of climate breakdown, and how the Government supports farmers and rural communities.’

Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, said expecting sheep farmers to give up farming sheep and plant forests ‘ignores two basic facts’.

‘Firstly sheep farming is more than just a business, it is part of our culture and heritage and farmers get huge pride and satisfaction from farming sheep,’ he said.

Secondly, land management had to be looked at on a multi-functional basis, he said, adding: ‘Sheep farmers are managing one of our most precious resources – grassland – while also producing a fantastic and nutritious food from it.’

He said grassland stored carbon and supported wildlife, and sheep farming was at the heart of rural communities that the public benefited from when they came to the countryside.

Reference https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8686511/Sheep-farmers-profit-letting-land-return-forest.html.