Climate change may kill the oldest tree in the world

Rising global temperature may claim another victim: the 4,848 year old Great Basin bristlecone pine, the Methuselah Tree, which is one of the oldest in the world.

In fact it’s not just Methuselah, which is roughly as old as the Egyptian pyramids. The Great Basin bristlecone pine tree species is under threat.

Scientists believe that bristlecone pine found in the upper reaches of the White Mountains in California may be replaced by the limber pine. Both bristlecone pine and limber pine are adapted to the climatic conditions of sub-alpine forests.

Due to global warming, preferred temperature zones for the trees are being pushed to the top of the mountain. Now the trees are locked in a fierce competition to spread in favourable habitat. And the limber pine is leapfrogging over bristlecone pine to win the race. Once limber pine are able to populate the better suited regions, they will use up most of sunlight and water, making it potentially impossible for new bristlecone pine trees to grow.

“I think what’s going to happen — at least in some areas — is that we’re going to lose bristlecone. There’s not very much room upslope before you get to the top of the mountain,” said Brian Smithers, an ecologist at the University of California Davis.