This giant tree.. the tallest in the Amazon rainforest
After three years of planning, expeditions and a two-week trek in the jungle, a team of scientists has arrived at the largest tree ever discovered in the Amazon rainforest, the size of a 25-storey building.
The giant tree that rises above the canopy in the Irataburu River Nature Reserve in northern Brazil is Denisia excelsa, with a height of 88.5 meters and a diameter of 9.9 meters.
Scientists first spotted it through satellite imagery in 2019, and then a local team, including researchers, environmental advocates and guides, tried to reach it during the same year.
After a 10-day trek in rough terrain, the team had to return after its members were tired and with a limited amount of food in their possession, in addition to one of them falling ill.
Three other expeditions in the remote Jari Valley on the border between Amapá and Para states gave access to a large number of other giant trees, including the largest Brazil nut ever seen in the Amazon with a height of 66 metres.
However, reaching the Denisia excelsa tree was not achieved until the expedition, which took place between 12 and 25 September last, in which the researchers traveled 250 km by boat and more than 20 km by walking through the mountain forest.
Forest engineer Diego Armando Silva of the Federal University of Amapá thought that getting to the tree was worth the adventure.
"It's one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life," he said.
The group took samples that will be analyzed to obtain information about the tree, most notably its age (according to Silva's predictions of at least 400 to 600 years) and the amount of carbon it stores.
Rio de Janeiro - AFP
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