Green Group discussion

Temple grounds in China shelter ancient trees, including eight species no longer found anywhere else.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ancient...

"The team gained access to government data and information from past surveys regarding approximately 50,000 old trees at temples or other religious grounds across China. Most of such sites, they noted, were Buddhist temples.

The researchers found that approximately 6,000 of them were of a threatened species. They also found that some were ancient—two trees at Daming Temple were found to be approximately 1,500 years old. Ginkgo biloba trees at several sites appeared to be over 1,000 years old, and they are associated with the spread of Buddhism. The oldest was dated through documentation back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE). The researchers also found eight types of tree whose species no longer exist anywhere else.

The researchers note that Buddhist and Taoist temples are especially good places for old trees due to the emphasis by followers of such faiths on the spirituality of plants, including trees. That leads to strong efforts to ensure not only their safety, but their spread on the grounds of the temples. Another factor leading to the success of old trees is the choice of trees made by those who maintain temple grounds—trees that tend to live a long time, such as Ginkgo biloba, were often favored."

More information: Li Huang et al, Religious temples are long-term refuges for old trees in human-dominated landscapes in China, Current Biology (2025).
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/...
Journal information: Current Biology

https://phys.org/news/2025-07-fig-tre...

"Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate 'rocks' in the surrounding soil."

More information: Biomineralising trees turn CO2 into CaCO3? Identifying novel oxalate-carbonate pathways associated with East African Fig trees in Samburu County, Kenya.

https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldsch...