Since 2019, researchers have been using lasers and making incursions into the depths of the Brazilian Amazon to identify giant trees that tower far above the rainforest canopy. Besides being a natural and scientific patrimony, these trees have an important role as climate regulators, are home to several other plants and animals, and may reveal secrets about the past of the rainforest. The tallest known tree in the Amazon to date is an 88.5-meter (290-foot) red angelim (Dinizia excelsa), believed to be between 400 and 600 years old and capable of absorbing as much carbon dioxide as 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of the forest around it, according to scientists. It’s located in Pará state, where the local government has designated a conservation area around it to protect this giant’s sanctuary. In neighboring Amapá state, however, the species has come under increasing threat. Amapá is home to six giant trees, including the Amazon’s second-tallest, an 85-m (279-ft) red angelim located in the Iratapuru River Sustainable Development Reserve, managed by the state government. The area’s protected status, however, hasn’t prevented illegal gold miners from operating 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away from this Amazonian treasure. The Amapá state public ministry (MP-AP) announced this discovery in late March. In October 2024, it had already made a public recommendation to the state government, seeking protection for the giant trees and for the creation of permanent preservation areas within a 1-km radius of each specimen. “The government’s response is still vague,” Marcelo Moreira, the prosecutor who…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Illegal gold mining creeps within a kilometer of Amazon’s second-tallest tree
