Oldest radiocarbon dated temperate hardwood tree in the world discovered in southern Italy

[Jim__]

From phys.org:

Radiocarbon dating of five large and potentially old sessile oaks from Aspromonte National Parks has revealed a long lifespan ranging from 934 ± 65 to 570 ± 45 years. For a long time, majestic oaks have been considered a symbol of longevity, and this study proves that a millennium age horizon is attainable longevity in angiosperms growing at high-elevation belt in Mediterranean mountains of South Italy.

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"Studying the longevity of trees in response to climate change under different environments is a research priority for both nature conservation and climate change mitigation strategies," says Gianluca Piovesan from University of Tuscia, Dafne. "For a long time, majestic oaks have been considered a symbol of longevity. In a study just published in the journal Ecology, we dated five large and potentially old sessile oaks from Aspromonte National Parks using radiocarbon, revealing unexpected long lifespan ranging from 934 ± 65 to 570 ± 45 years.

Jordan Palli and Michele Baliva from Dendrology Lab, University of Tuscia, say: "The sampling was arduous for two reasons: Firstly, these ancient trees stand on steep, rocky slopes that are difficult to reach and to walk through. Secondly, very old individuals are often rotten or hollowed in the inner part of the stem, given the centuries of exposure to the elements and to natural pests and pathogens. This means that the oldest rings were often missing or severely degraded, challenging the identification and collection of the closest tree rings to the pith for radiocarbon dating. In the Dendrology Lab we carried out a careful stereoscope screening to identify the oldest rings in our samples. Given the very narrow size of the rings, we had to use a scalpel to collect them."

The oldest tree, nicknamed Demetra proves that a millennium age horizon is attainable for angiosperms growing in steep, rocky slopes of the high-elevation Mediterranean mountain belt. The extreme age of Demeter makes it the oldest dated temperate hardwood tree in the world, expanding the known maximum longevity by more than 300 years as compared to two cross-dated 620-year-old beech trees discovered two years ago in Pollino National Park and nicknamed Michele and Norman, and 200 years comparing radiocarbon-calibrated ages of two English oaks from Romania. With its very slow mean annual radial growth (0.4 mm/yr) and smallest diameter among the sampled trees, Demeter confirms the growth-longevity trade-off commonly described for the evolution and expression of life history traits.

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