The heaviest and biggest living organism on Earth is not an elephant or even a whale. Oddly enough, the largest organism is a system of Pando, consisting of 40 000 trees, connected by roots. It covers an area of 43 hectares, and its weight is 6000 tons. The start date of its formation coincided with the end of the ice age, but after thousands of years of its existence it was faced with big problems and is now on the verge of extinction.
According to the study published in PLOS One on Wednesday, the aspen forest has stopped growing. The researchers made this conclusion after studying the 106 acres. In fact, the forest has ceased to show growth of at least 30-40 years ago
According to Paul Rogers, head of the Western Aspen Alliance, which in 2017 conducted the same research but on a smaller scale, the problems are caused by people. The fact that they allowed the local deer and other animals eat all the available plants. Researchers have not found a single sprout with a tip.
Previously, the deer population is regulated by predators like bears and wolves, but due to hunting, their number has decreased. Also the disappearance of the germs to blame the ranch, who release animals to the forest “alive”, it is necessary to suspend the roaming livestock.
The human factor in Pando is clearly seen when comparing photographs of 1939 and 2011. It is clear that the people began to build houses and campsites.
In the future, the researchers want to know how will affect the forest of climate change. It is noteworthy that their goal is not the observation of the death of a huge organism, and attempt to draw the authorities ‘ attention to the problem. Having declared the danger, they want to get support at the state level, in order to stop people destroying the forest and he resumed growth.
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The largest organism on earth is on the verge of death
Ramis Ganiev