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Do you know that the Clanwilliam cedar tree is among the solely two indigenous conifers in southern Africa? It’s also one of many 43 endangered cone-bearing subspecies globally. Eager to be taught extra? Stick round.
What makes the Clanwilliam cedar tree so particular?
Only a few endemic timber happen within the Cederberg mountains.
The Clanwilliam cedar tree is one among 4 subspecies of Widdringtonia, which belongs to the Cupressaceae household of timber, generally referred to as conifers. This tree is confined to 250km2 of the Cederberg mountains, and may’t be discovered anyplace else on the earth.
Historical past
The cedar tree origins
The title Widdringtonia was coined by Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher as an homage to Samuel Edward Cook dinner. Cook dinner, an creator and traveller who later modified his surname to Widdrington, extensively researched conifers in the course of the 18th and 19th century, after which he wrote a guide about European pine timber.
Though a lot uncertainty is current across the botanical title for the Clanwilliam cedar, it’s generally known as Widdringtonia cedarbergensis, named after the late creator and the area it happens in.
Cedar tree makes use of
Cedar timber are exceptionally sturdy and have a particularly lengthy lifespan, with some tree ring development exhibiting that some timber are over 1 000 years previous. Cedar wooden ranges from stark white to a pale yellow color.
So it’s no shock it was extraordinarily widespread in the course of the 1800s as soon as its potential was recognised. Cedar would was used for nearly every little thing, however particularly for phone poles, furnishings and shipbuilding.
Even the tree sap discovered within the tree had its advantages, principally used for medicinal functions, to make plasters, and as a varnish.
Solely lifeless, tall, straight timber have been used as a result of reside timber contained an excessive amount of resin, making sawing unimaginable. These have been mostly discovered on the rocky crevices of the Cederberg mountains and had fewer offshoots than those rising in open veld.
After timber have been felled, they have been dragged down by donkeys, the place it was additional labored on or shipped out to surrounding districts.
Nonetheless, what was as soon as an abundance rapidly thinned out and the cedar tree is now listed Critically Endangered on the IUCN Crimson Record of Threatened Species, with solely 20% of the unique inhabitants remaining.
Finish of an period
The overuse of cedar timber was put to an finish in 1973 when the Cederberg Wilderness space was declared a CapeNature reserve. This declaration got here with two key goals, specifically the prevention of the dying of totally mature timber and to extend the variety of juvenile timber.
Threats to the cedar tree
A number of elements have led to the premature decline of the cedar tree. Some 3800 and 1800 years in the past, pure causes led to a extreme decline in cedar timber. Because the 1800s, the demand for cedar timber outweighed the availability, and overuse rapidly led to an enormous decline in numbers.
Elevated temperature attributable to local weather change is one other issue within the decline of timber, since these temperatures and subsequent dry situations will not be appropriate situations for a cedar tree to develop. Many of the Clanwilliam cedar timber on the decrease components of the mountains have died out, however these larger up expertise colder temperatures and thus have a greater likelihood in survival.
Specialists count on a 51-65% loss in areas of fynbos within the coming years. The variety of cedar timber recorded some 200 years in the past will seemingly not be seen for many years, and may local weather change persist, the tree will go extinct in nature.
What you are able to do to assist
- Forestall wildfires by solely making fires at camp websites and put out all fires correctly earlier than you permit.
- Don’t toss cigarette butts out the automobile window.
- Take away all invasive plant species in your backyard and change them with indigenous and endemic vegetation.
- Report any unlawful commerce of the cedar tree to CapeNature.
- Comply with mountain climbing trails, not short-cuts or unused areas.
- Don’t use dangerous chemical compounds close to water sources.
- Take your trash with you after visiting a wilderness space.
- Be a part of the Cederberg Wilderness Conservation initiative as a hands-on method.
Image: Tony Rebelo
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