Chile's pine forests: A botanical dinosaur bound for extinction?

[Judi Lynn]

Chile's pine forests: A botanical dinosaur bound for extinction?
2018-12-11 12:36

In Quinquen, an indigenous community in southern Chile, Ricardo Melinir shows off a forest of Chilean pine trees – the araucaria araucana, a "living fossil" seen as sacred by several local tribes.

He managed to save the "Monkey Puzzle" trees – some of which are 1 000 years old or more – from logging companies, but they are still under threat from blight and climate change.

"It is difficult to say how old these pines are," says the 60-something Melinir, shivering in the cold.

He points to a giant tree felled in the winter months earlier this year, a victim of heavy snow and old age.

More:
https://www.news24.com/Green/News/chiles-pine-forests-a-botanical-dinosaur-bound-for-extinction-20181211

[NickB79]

1. Monkey puzzle trees are fairly common worldwide

They're a popular tree in landscaping, so they're in no danger of extinction.

Their pristine wild forests, however, seem screwed.