Lhasa, 5 May (ZXS) -- This reporter learned from the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center on 26 May that a joint investigation team led by Peking University found a giant tree (Tibetan cypress) 26.102 meters tall in Bomi County, Nyingchi City, in the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve in Tibet. The discovery refreshed the list of the world's tallest trees by species, with Tibetan cypress becoming the world's second tallest tree species after the American coastal redwood, and also breaking the Asian record as the tallest tree currently known in Asia.
Zhao Xiang, director of conservation of Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, introduced that in May 2023, under the guidance and support of the Department of Nature Reserve Management of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Nyingchi City, and the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Bomi County, a joint biodiversity investigation team composed of Guo Qinghua and Lv Zhi's research group of Peking University, Xizijiang Ecological Conservation Center, Beijing Digital Green Earth Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanshui Nature Conservation Center used UAV lidar to accurately survey and map the area of cypress in Tibet. The presence of a 5.102-meter giant tree in the area was confirmed.
The survey team combined the drone with the backpack lidar to obtain the detailed three-dimensional point cloud data of the tree, measured its breast diameter of 293 cm, and used drone photography to obtain giant tree and other body photos.
In this survey, in addition to the tallest tree of cypress in Tibet, a large number of giant trees above 85 meters were also found, including 90 giant trees above 25 meters, which greatly improved the tree height record in China and even Asia, and is currently the area with the highest height and distribution density of giant trees found by accurate measurement in China and even Asia.
Tibetan cypress is mainly distributed in southeast Tibet, China, only a small number of distribution in the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve, the distribution area is very narrow, the population is sparse, and it is listed as a national first-class key protected plant in China.
Zhao Xiang said that in the past two years, many scientific research teams have continuously discovered giant trees in the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon area, continuously refreshing China's tall tree records, which fully reflects the authenticity and uniqueness of the forest ecosystem in the region and the conservation value of biodiversity. (End)