I saw Gumtrees loved of Australia die and it makes me surprise: if they cannot survive, how can we? | Jess Harwood
THEAST week I went to Adelaide to see a man on a tree. The man was Dr. Dean Nicolle and the tree was actually 10,000 eucalyptus and mallei trees, of over 800 species, which Dean has planted on a block of land south of Adelaide since 1993.
Dean’s passion for eucalyptus is incredible. It makes me understand that so much conservation happens exclusively because someone is absolutely fascinated by something. And fortunately Dean is, because his love for Eucalypt has made Arboreto Currency Creek, designed to bring together all the species of Australian eucalyptus in a research place.
During my visit, I was caught by surprise by the Bruno-Beige landscape and how the grass creases like the cornflakes under the feet. Southern Australia is in the grip of the worst drought in 40 years. Dean is conducting drought studies on his trees, about a third of which he is dying, or has curled up and died in recent months. He says he has noticed that the drought has particularly affected the strings in the hills of Adelaide.
As a communications professional who works in the climatic media for years, I am used to reading terrible news on the climate, but this is different. There is something to see the trees dry and become brown, with the bark that is divided and the dry leaves, which points out my interiors.
I feel like there is a warning implanted in depth in my subconscious way, far behind that says: if the trees cannot survive, nor can you.
Of course, the eucalyptus are historically a great history of survival. Known in general how resistant and drought resistantIconic Eucalypti of Australia have resisted the frozen eras and count their lineage from which 52m years ago, when Australia was still part of Gondwanaland. There is also evidence that have survived forest fires for millions of years.
Can they survive us? As Australian fuels and most serious and frequent Australian carbon bearings, waves of heat and drought (at the top of the compensation of the soil, deforestation and diseases), our trees are finding their limits.
The international union for the conservation of nature (IUCN) warned it 25% of eucalyptus are at risk of extinctionWith the most added to their red list of species threatened in 2019.
With about 840 species, the Eucalyptus are very different but many species have only a small distribution and are highly adapted to that particular area. This can make them particularly susceptible to localized climatic impacts. If only the trees could eradicate themselves and walk towards a more favorable position and climate.
Take the splendid tall forests of Tasmania, for example, seat Eucalyptus ruleThe highest flowery tree in the world. They grow at their impressive height because they adapted to cold summers and high rains. This means that they have a small room with difficulty and a changing climate, with more drought AND heat wavesHe is causing Dieback. The greatest frequency and intensity of the fires occurred 60% of the largest known Eucalyptus of Tasmania killed by fires since 2004.
During lunch after visiting the Arboreto of Currency Creek, Dean, his partner Annett and I talk about how we face “Solastalgia” (or eco-anxiety) and we look at extinctions in real time.
Dean says he is trying to see the death of trees that he has cultivated for decades through a research lens. Annett, also a scientist, loves kickboxing to cope with these great feelings. I say I find useful oath.
More useful than oath, however, is the work done to protect vulnerable populations and invest in adaptation and research such as the Revinced ready for Nardo’s climate project.
In the meantime, I will try to do a little to encourage love for Eucali through art and comics. During the long return journey from Adelaide to Sydney, while the landscape turns from brown to green again, I continue to look at the Gumnuts bag that Dean gave me to draw. They are like wonderful jewels. I want everyone to know and love them so that they can have a safe future.
