Do trees have a lifespan limit? Do trees have a lifespan?

There are limits. There can be no limits. Look what kind of tree you are.

The average tree species can live for two or three hundred years before dying. However, there are also many trees that can live for thousands of years: Llangernyw Yew, Giant Sequoia, Sacred Fig, Limber Pine, European Yew, Subalpine Larch, ......The longest-living tree is a bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva); There is one in White Mountain, California, which is over 5,000 years old.

Some species are known as clonal trees. The entire tree may belong to the same clone. That is, an individual with the same gene.

They don't have a tree on the ground that lasts long. But every tree with the clone is connected underground, and such a clone can exist for thousands or even millions of years. For example, the state of Utah, USA.

Quaking Aspen clone. This clone has a name, it's called pando. The entire clone is said to have been around for 80,000-1,000,000 years.

But every "tree" dies in just a few decades at most. Now for the principle. Like animals, plants may undergo the aging process.

Aging in animals is also accompanied by decreased cell viability, increased variation, and accumulation of gene expression errors. But plants don't seem to have these changes at the cellular level; There is very little accumulated variation. We don't fully understand the mechanism of plant aging, but the reason is likely to be related to the growing size and height of plants.

The taller the tree, the more difficult it is to transport water to the leaves, and the photosynthetic efficiency decreases. As a result, their ability to withstand pests and diseases such as drought is weakened. As a result, it is more likely to die of illness and drought.

So the clone tree said, "You don't see the old trunk and go to the new trunk, so you don't grow up to attract insects, and you don't have to die." It's just that the earth is heating up so fast, and the places that shouldn't be dry are also dry.

The already dry places may be even drier, and even the pando is beginning to be threatened. "There is no fairness, only luck", so Pando has existed for so many thousands of years. May Pando continue to have good luck.

I recommend two books: Thomas Their Natural History-Cup (2014) and The Secret Life of Trees by Colin Tudge 2005, the latter of which is published in 2015 by the Commercial Press. In a word: phenotype = genetics + environment + interaction, theoretically speaking, plants can grow indefinitely due to the continuous growth and differentiation of plant meristems, but due to the influence of environment and human factors, the lifespan of general forest trees is limited, so any conclusion is premised.

However, recent studies on ageing and phase change of plants, especially woody plants, have also shown that genetics also has an impact on plant senescence, and gene expression at different developmental stages has significant differences. <>

Trees have a lifespan.

Classification: Trees have lifespans. Different trees have different lifespans.

The willow tree lives for 150 years, the pear tree for 300 years, the jujube tree for 400 years, the elm tree for 500 years, the birch tree for 600 years, the camphor tree for 800 years, the fig tree for 1,000 years, the cedar tree for 2,000 years, the cypress tree for 3,000 years, the spruce tree for 4,000 years, the dragon's blood tree about 8,000 10,000 years old, and a shrub of the genus Laria, which is known to live in the Mexican desert for 1,1700 years.

Genes determine the longevity of trees.

The genes of different trees determine their lifespan. The DNA of different tree species will be replicated countless times in a long life, and it is inevitable that there will be DNA cracks or defects in the replication process, and these wrong DNA will lead to wrong transcription and translation, resulting in the production of a number of non-functional proteins (enzymes), if these proteins exceed a certain threshold, they will cause dysfunction and lead to aging, and eventually death.

Long-lived trees are characterized by slow growth, high wood strength, seed propagation, well-developed root systems, strong germination, few pests and diseases, and strong resistance to stress.

Environmental impact of growth.

The lifespan of a tree is also determined by the external environment, such as temperature, water, light, radiation, and nutrients in the soil.

The lifespan of the same tree varies greatly in different environments. Comparatively speaking, long-lived trees are more likely to occur in the following environments: sheltered from wind and sun, ventilated and light-oriented, deep soil, and smooth drainage.

In ecological public welfare forests (natural forests, natural secondary forests or primary forests), suitable ecological environment and stable ecosystem have become the main factors affecting the longevity of trees.

1. Dandelion.

Dandelion is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family and dandelion genus, also called Huahualang, dandelion grass, edible dandelion, bedwetting grass, western dandelion, mother-in-law, etc., its flowering and fruiting period is generally 4 October every year.

Dandelion is widely found in hillside grasslands, roadsides, fields, and river beaches in middle and low altitude areas, and grows in most areas of China, such as Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, northern Fujian, Taiwan, Hunan, northern Guangdong, Sichuan, and other places.

Second, the willow tree. Willow is a kind of plant of Salix family, willow genus, there are many kinds of willow, and it is divided into dry willow, glandular willow, weeping willow, etc., willow belongs to a wide range of ecological plants, has a wide range of adaptability to the environment, and is a mesophytic and humid tree species. However, some species are also more drought tolerant and salinity-tolerant, and can grow in places with harsh ecological conditions, and grow better in fertile plains with superior site conditions.

The general lifespan is 20 to 30 years, and a few species can reach more than 100 years. The growth period is long in the year, the germination is early, the leaves fall late, and the individual species in the south are evergreen trees.

3. Poplar. Poplar is a kind of plant of the family Salix and poplar, which is divided into five major groups, namely poplar faction, poplar faction, black poplar faction, poplar faction and large-leaved poplar faction.

Poplar is a forest tree species scattered in the temperate and cold temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. In China, it is distributed between 25 degrees and 53 degrees north latitude and 80 degrees and 134 degrees east longitude, that is, it is distributed in central China, north China, northwest China, northeast and other vast areas. The rest of the world is generally located in the range of 30 degrees to 72 degrees north latitude.

Fourth, pine trees. Pine is a plant of the pine family, pine genus, mainly divided into masson pine, tabuliformis pine, whitebark pine, podocarpus, Huashan pine, Dabie mountain five-needle pine, red pine, black pine, Huangshan pine, etc., there are many species, a total of more than 80 species, the life span of pine is also very long.

The longest-lived tree is the baobab tree.

Baobab trees are mainly distributed in Africa, the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean islands and northern Australia, baobab trees generally grow to 5-30 meters, but the trunk is very thick, the diameter is 7 11 meters, according to the calculations of relevant experts, the oldest baobab tree, has lived for 5,500 years. Therefore, this tree, which has witnessed history, is also known locally as the "sacred tree" and is loved by the people.

Baobab also has two skills: one is that it is very fire-resistant, and it will generally regenerate after a fire. In addition, the trunk is very loose, and a bullet can penetrate such a thick tree, which is conducive to water storage.

Growing environment

Baobab has a very long lifespan, is one of the longest-lived tree species in the world, can be as long as 3000 years, the vitality is very tenacious, likes dry environment, extremely drought resistance, widely adapted to all kinds of soil conditions, its adaptability to temperature is also very strong, can tolerate both long-term high temperature above 40 degrees, but also tolerate ultra-low temperature below 0 degrees.

Baobab trees are commonly found at altitudes of 450 to 600 m and occasionally at high altitudes of 1000 to 1500 m. Baobab trees tend to grow alone and are more sensitive to waterlogging and frost. During the dry season, the baobab tree sheds its leaves to reduce evaporation, while during the rainy season, it uses its thick stems and soft wood to absorb a lot of water for use during the dry season.