Europe's oldest known living inhabitant
A Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) growing in the highlands of northern Greece has been dendrocronologically dated to be more than 1075 years old. This makes it currently the oldest known living tree in Europe. The millenium old pine was discovered by scientists from Stockholm University (Sweden), the University of Mainz (Germany) and the University of Arizona (USA). "It is quite
remarkable1 that this large, complex and impressive organism has survived so long in such an inhospitable environment, in a land that has been
civilized2 for over 3000 years" says Swedish dendrochronologist, Paul J. Krusic, leader of the expedition that found the tree. It is one of more than a dozen individuals of
millennial3 age, living in a treeline forest high in the Pindos mountains.
一棵生长在希腊北部高地的波士尼亚松的树龄已超过1075年。这使它成为目前欧洲已知最古老的活树。这棵千年树龄的松树是由瑞典斯德哥尔摩大学、德国美因茨大学和美国亚利桑那大学的科学家发现的。发现这棵树的探险队队长、瑞典树木计时学家保罗·J·克鲁西奇说:“在一片文明了3000多年的土地上,这种巨大、复杂、令人印象深刻的生物在如此恶劣的环境中存活了这么长时间,这真是太了不起了。”它是十几个千禧一代中的一个,生活在平多斯山脉高处的一片树林中。
"Many years ago I read a thesis about this very interesting forest in Greece. In our research, we try to build long chronologies to construct climate histories, so finding living trees of old age is one of our motivations. To age the tree, we needed to take a core of wood, from the outside to the center. The core is one meter and has 1075 annual rings" says Krusic.
克鲁西奇说:“多年前,我读到一篇关于希腊这片非常有趣的森林的论文。在我们的研究中,我们试图建立长的年表来构建气候历史,因此寻找老年的活树是我们的动机之一。要知道树龄,我们需要从外部到中心取一个木材核心。核心是一米,有1075个年轮。”
The scientists hope the annual variations of the tree rings from trees like this and those fallen in centuries past, yet still preserved on the ground, will provide an
informative4 history of climatic and environmental conditions, going back thousands of years. Considering where the tree was found, and its venerable age, the scientists have named this individual "Adonis" after the Greek god of beauty and desire.
科学家们希望,像这样的树木以及那些在过去几个世纪里倒下但仍保存在地面上的树木的年轮的年度变化,将提供数千年前气候和环境条件的丰富历史。考虑到这棵树是在哪里发现的,以及它古老的年龄,科学家们以希腊的美丽和欲望之神的名字将这个人命名为“阿多尼斯”。
"I am impressed, in the context of western civilization, all the human history that has surrounded this tree; all the empires, the Byzantine, the Ottoman, all the people living in this region. So many things could have led to its
demise5. Fortunately, this forest has been basically untouched for over a thousand years" says Krusic.
克鲁西奇说:“在西方文明的背景下,这棵树周围的所有人类历史给我留下了深刻的印象;所有的帝国,拜占庭帝国,奥斯曼帝国,所有生活在这个地区的人。太多的事情可能会导致它的灭亡。幸运的是,这片森林一千多年来基本上没有受到任何影响。”。
Timeline:
941 - Adonis is a
seedling6. The Byzantine Empire is at its peak. From the North, the Vikings reach the Black Sea.
1041 - Adonis is a 100 years old. In China, a book is published describing
gunpowder7. A man called Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland.
1191 - Adonis is 250 years old. The universities of
Oxford8 and Paris are founded. The third crusade battles Saladin in the Holy Land.
1441 - Adonis is 500 years old. The Ottoman empire conquers Greece. Many Greek scholars flee to the west, influencing the
Renaissance9. In Sweden, the first parliament is held in Arboga. Johannes Gutenberg is about to test his first printing press.
1691 - Adonis is 750 years old. Isaac Newton has
formulated10 his Laws on Motion. Ice cream, tea and coffee are introduced in Europe.
时间线:
941年的今天,阿多尼斯是一棵幼苗。拜占庭帝国正处于鼎盛时期。维京人从北方到达黑海。
1041年的今天,阿多尼斯已经100岁了。在中国,出版了一本描述火药的书。一个叫麦克白的人被加冕为苏格兰国王。
1191年的今天,阿多尼斯250岁了。牛津大学和巴黎大学成立了。第三次十字军东征在圣地与萨拉丁交战。
1441年的今天,阿多尼斯500岁了。奥斯曼帝国征服了希腊。许多希腊学者逃往西方,影响了文艺复兴。在瑞典,第一届议会在阿尔博加举行。约翰内斯·古腾堡即将测试他的第一台印刷机。
1691年的今天,阿多尼斯已经750岁了。艾萨克·牛顿制定了他的运动定律。冰淇淋、茶和咖啡被引入欧洲。
1941年的今天,阿多尼斯已经有一千年的历史了。第二次世界大战正在肆虐世界。希腊被纳粹德国、意大利和保加利亚占领。
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