Australian researchers are building a “living seed bank” to protect the continent’s last remaining rainforests from climate change, with one goal: to prevent the extinction of ancient trees that date back to Gondwana, the supercontinent that existed before Earth’s continents separated hundreds of millions of years ago.
Historically, Australia’s lush Big Scrub Rainforest covered 185,000 acres (75,000 hectares) covers an area of about one million square kilometres in eastern Australia. But centuries of human encroachment and wildfires have reduced its area to just 1% of its original size, and rising temperatures and droughts are now threatening the remaining area.
These small areas have fewer trees and less diversity, making species more vulnerable to weather changes, warming temperatures and disease.
This is especially true for red carabeans (Carabiner benthamiana) and Yellow Carabean (Sloanea ursi) was discovered in a lineage that dates back more than 50 million years ago, when Australia was still adjacent to Antarctica, before the supercontinent Gondwana completely broke up.
These canopy trees grow to heights of 115 feet and 164 feet (35 meters and 50 meters), respectively, and “form the main framework of the forest,” he said. Robert KooymanA plant biologist at Macquarie University in Australia worked on the study.
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In the new project, The science behind saving the rainforestsFor the project, run by Australian non-profit Big Scrub Rainforest Conservation Society, scientists selected 60 plant species, including trees that date back to Gondwana.
For each species, the researchers built their genomes by collecting DNA from leaf samples from dozens of plants across its geographic range. The geographic distribution is important, Kooymans says. “What it gives us is a measure of how much diversity there is within a species’ genome, and how that diversity is structured in response to changing climate.”
This will reveal genes for rainforest plants that can thrive in warmer, drier environments that are closer to future climate conditions.
Using genomes, researchers can identify and collect populations of each plant species that contain as much of the diversity revealed by the genome as possible, including populations that are better able to withstand climatic stress.
These potential plants are currently being propagated and will be grown in a 37-acre (15-hectare) research plantation in New South Wales called a “living seed bank.” In about five years, the trees will be ready to be planted in the remaining forest fragments.
The hope is to transform these patches into larger, more diverse landscapes that resemble intact rainforests. And for species facing climate threats, plantations provide resources from which they can select and “transfer materials that increase their ability to cope,” Kooyman said. For ancient lineages of trees like the giant carabine from Gondwana, this could be an essential toolkit for survival.
“I was impressed by the positive attitude and confidence the people involved had in plant genetics.” Sebastian Fauci“The study is a step toward a more sustainable future,” said John F. Kennedy, a researcher who has studied how trees respond to climate stress and was not involved in the new research, told Live Science, but he was cautious about the research’s overall aims.
Fauci’s own research, through controlled experiments with eucalyptus species, has found that there may be limits to the trees’ ability to adapt to high temperatures. Fauci, a professor of urban planning and management at Western Sydney University, also expressed concern that the project relies on public donations to survive. “Continued funding from state and federal governments is essential to ensure the trees can thrive,” he said.
But Kooyman is optimistic, believing the project could serve as a blueprint for future genetic research not just in rainforests, but in endangered ecosystems around the world. “This is a starting point of what’s possible,” he said.
