The "largest" Amazon tree is 88 meters long and is not threatened by fires ravaging vast areas of the rainforest, according to Brazilian and British researchers. Located in northern Brazil, in a "sanctuary" of giant trees, on the border between the states of Para and Amapa, the tree species Dinizia excelsa , has a circumference of 5.5 meters, reveal scientific work recently published by the State Secretariat for Science and Technology of Amapa State (Setec).
Nearly 100,000 fire starts since January
These trees are common in this region, but they "generally reach 60 meters," says Éric Bastos, coordinator of the investigative work carried out in August by researchers from the Federal University of Los Vales de Jequitinhonha (UFVJM) and the British Universities of Cambridge and Swansea. The trees have been identified by airborne sensors. "This is a great discovery and we have the duty to preserve" these trees, added the researcher.
Due to its location inside the forest, the giant is not threatened by the fires linked to deforestation that ravage large areas of the Amazon, said Tuesday a responsible for Setec. According to the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), between early January and September 2, 93,175 fire starts were recorded in Brazil - a record since 2010 - including nearly 52% in the Amazon.