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Where there\u2019s a tree, there\u2019s usually a forest. But not always. A biologist describes some of the loneliest trees on planet Earth.<\/p>\n
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When we think about isolation in nature, we usually picture islands surrounded by ocean \u2014 evolving life forms that exist nowhere else on Earth. But isolation doesn\u2019t limit itself to the ocean; it also happens on land, and often, too.<\/p>\n
In some of the most remote corners of the planet, individual trees stand alone, sometimes hundreds of miles from their nearest neighbor. They defy logic, ecology and even time itself. These solitary sentinels are often the last remains of once-lush forests, or genetic survivors of ancient, bygone ecosystems. <\/p>\n
Here are five of the most extraordinary examples of isolation in the arboreal world, and the science that explains how they manage to survive.<\/p>\n
1. The Tree of T\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9 (Niger)<\/p>\n
For much of the 20th century, the Tree of T\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9<\/a> held the uncontested title of the most isolated tree on Earth. It stood deep in the Sahara Desert of northeastern Niger, and there were approximately 250 miles between it and the closest other tree.<\/p>\n Specifically, the Tree of T\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9 was a lone acacia (Vachellia tortilis), but it was also the only living tree for hundreds of miles. This made it into a vital navigational landmark for Tuareg caravans crossing the desert. <\/p>\n The tree\u2019s biology tells a remarkable story of desert adaptation. French military surveys in the 1930s discovered that its roots plunged more than 35 meters (115 feet) into the sand to reach a hidden aquifer. On top of their intricate root systems, acacias are also able to close their stomata (leaf pores) during the hottest hours of the day; this assists them in reducing water loss to nearly zero. <\/p>\n Most tragically, The Tree of T\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9 was knocked down by a truck in 1973, allegedly driven by a drunk driver. Today, its preserved trunk still resides in the National Museum of Niger, and a metal sculpture now marks the site. Despite its untimely demise, the tree still remains a symbol of life\u2019s improbable persistence.<\/p>\n 2. The Tree Of Life (Bahrain)<\/p>\n In the middle of Bahrain\u2019s arid desert, there stands a 400-year-old Prosopis cineraria, also known as Persian mesquite, ghaf or khejri. But, locally, this particular tree is known as the Tree of Life \u2014 since, somehow, it managed to germinate where no natural water source exists for miles.<\/p>\n This species is native to arid regions of the Middle East and South Asia, from India all the way to Afghanistan. The Bahraini specimen, however, is most remarkable for being utterly alone, and for thriving in conditions that seem incompatible with life.<\/p>\n For decades, botanists have studied the Tree of Life in the hopes of understanding its survival strategy. The leading theory, as explained in 2021 research<\/a> from Botany Letters, is that its taproots may reach depths of up to 35 meters. In the case of the Tree of Life, this may allow it to tap into deep underground aquifers, drawing moisture from ancient water reserves hundreds of feet below the surface. Similarly, the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in Prosopis cineraria\u2019s roots may also give it a metabolic advantage, especially in nutrient-poor soils.<\/p>\n 3. Pando (Utah, USA)<\/p>\n Unlike the Tree of T\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9 or the Tree of Life, Pando isn\u2019t a single tree. Instead, it\u2019s an entire genetically identical forest. Located in Utah\u2019s Fishlake National Forest, Pando \u2014 directly translated to \u201cI spread\u201d in Latin \u2014 is a clonal colony of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). What makes Pando so exquisite is that it\u2019s all connected by a singular underground root system.<\/p>\n Despite the fact that it looks like a forest, Pando is technically one organism. It\u2019s one of the largest and oldest living beings on Earth. Data from radiocarbon dating suggests that Pando may be as old as 9,000 to 14,000 years, and possibly even older.<\/p>\n What makes Pando \u201cisolated\u201d isn\u2019t necessarily location, like its counterparts, but rather its genetic singularity. As research<\/a> from Western North American Naturalist explains, every tree, or \u201cramet,\u201d is a clone of the same parent organism. This means that when one stem dies, another one will grow in its place; this process is what keeps the organism alive for millennia.<\/p>\n Pando\u2019s isolation has become both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it\u2019s highly resilient to drought and fire thanks to its deep roots. But on the other, modern human activity (particularly grazing and fire suppression) is actively threatening its regeneration abilities. In order to give this ancient organism its deserved chance to keep spreading, conservationists are now fencing parts of Pando to protect it from deer and elk.<\/p>\n 4. \u00c1rbol Del Tule (Oaxaca, Mexico)<\/p>\n In the small town of Santa Mar\u00eda del Tule in Oaxaca, Mexico, you\u2019ll find the Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) with the widest trunk in the entire world, with a circumference of nearly 138 feet (42 meters). It\u2019s so massive, in fact, that people assumed for decades that the \u00c1rbol Del Tule was multiple trees fused together. <\/p>\n Eventually, however, genetic testing conducted in a 1990 study<\/a> published by the California Botanical Society confirmed that it\u2019s a single organism.<\/p>\n While not \u201cisolated\u201d in the same sense as a singular tree, alone in a desert, the \u00c1rbol del Tule is ecologically isolated. Specifically, it\u2019s the last ancient survivor of what was once a vast wetland forest. In the millennia since, urbanization and agriculture have all but erased its natural companions. In turn, it\u2019s now a botanical relic surrounded by a modern town.<\/p>\n Its water source comes from a small spring-fed aquifer, which scientists believe has sustained it for over 2,000 years. Its dense, spiral-grained wood makes it extraordinarily resistant to decay, and local Zapotec tradition holds that the tree embodies the soul of a priest who planted it in pre-Columbian times.<\/p>\n 5. The Antarctic Beech Of Gondwana Rainforests (Australia)<\/p>\n The Antarctic beech (Nothofagus moorei) also isn\u2019t a tree that\u2019s geographically isolated. You can find them in fifty separate reserves of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Rather, it\u2019s isolated in an evolutionary sense \u2014 with its lineage back over 100 million years to the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.<\/p>\n