A unique witness to human history can be found in the green forests of southern Chile. It is a coniferous tree whose age has been estimated at more than 5,000 years. The research is led by young Chilean scientist Jonathan Barichivich, who has developed a new method for estimating the age of trees, highlights the journal Science.

If confirmed, the tree located in Alerce Costero Park would far surpass the current record holder, a pine tree called "Methuselah" from Eastern California believed to be 4,853 years old. To reach the age of the Chilean tree, Barichivich, who works at the Paris Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences, used a combination of computational models and traditional methods.

Although it has survived countless eras of human civilization, the tree named "Gran Abuelo" (great-grandfather) and owner of a trunk 4 meters in diameter, still does not have the protection it deserves. According to the researcher, visitors often come out of the observation deck, step on the roots of the tree and even take pieces of its bark.

Similar trees in the United States, for example, have their location hidden to prevent damage, he compared. It is estimated that currently less than 30% of the tree is actually alive. Barichivich said he hoped people could "think for a fraction of a second about what it means to live 5,000 years" and put their lives and climate crisis into perspective.

Source: Um só Planeta