Tailored protection to help nature's old-timers live on for generations to come

In recent years, numerous regions across the country have implemented tailored protection strategies for ancient trees, resulting in the effective protection and rejuvenation of a significant number of valuable ancient and famous trees.

Nonetheless, tree experts have highlighted several shortcomings in these efforts such as issues including "gradual destruction", "micro-destruction" and "protective destruction" affecting these living ecological treasures, as well as critical deficiencies in the systematic and professional aspects of this work that urgently need to be addressed.

The findings of the second national survey of ancient and famous trees conducted by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration in 2022 revealed that China has approximately 5.08 million ancient and famous trees. This total includes around 1.22 million scattered trees and 3.86 million clustered trees within the survey's scope.

According to Xinhua News Agency, instances of "slow destruction" occasionally occur in the country, particularly in rural and remote mountainous areas where the pressure for protection is heightened due to the vast land and sparse population.

In a case handled by a county procuratorate in the western part of the country, 14 individuals were found to have illegally excavated and transplanted over 400 boxwood trees in the Qinling-Daba mountainous area between May 2017 and January 2022. This included 14 ancient trees that were over a hundred years old, with the oldest tree being more than 300 years old.

Ancient trees in densely populated areas are vulnerable to "microdestruction" caused by human activities.

For instance, some ancient trees experience decaying roots, scraped bark, hollow trunks, severe diseases and insect infestations. They may have household garbage accumulated around them, leading to a hostile living environment. Moreover, some trees have wires entangled on their trunks. Some individuals dig holes, remove soil around the trees, burn incense, paper, candles and even dispose of harmful waste liquids — all of which negatively impact the health of the ancient trees.

Some places have implemented extensive restoration of ancient trees or excessively developed tourism around ancient trees, resulting in "protective destruction".

Yang Yongchuan, a professor from the School of Environmental and Ecological Sciences at Chongqing University noted in recent years, some rural areas in the country have utilized ancient and famous trees for tourism development. However, improper practices such as laying bricks or paving cement roads around the trees have hindered their growth by preventing the roots from accessing sufficient nutrients. In other locations, protection measures for ancient and famous trees have been implemented without scientific basis, leading to issues such as the use of inappropriate materials for repairing and filling tree holes, resulting in severe decay of the core wood of the trunk.