What happened to the trees on Easter Island?
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Rapa Nui, in the South Pacific, is famous for its monumental head statues.The barren landscape is a symbol of ecological collapse.
There is a coat of green grass after the rain on the volcanic rock.There isn't a single rivulet that flows through the two volcanic lakes on Easter Island.
When it rains on the island, the water quickly floods through the volcanic soil and leaves the grass dry.The island at the end of the world has no trees or shrubs.
A number of ventures have tried to change this.The aito tree, which is native to Polynesian islands, was planted by the CONAF on Easter Island.The toa or ironwood was considered sacred to the local culture and was traditionally planted in places of worship.
Biologist Alejandro and his colleagues are looking into the possibility of other candidates next to the aito tree.
Edmund says that the trees need all the minerals they can get.The sun beats down for about 12 hours a day, accounting for the island's sparse vegetation.The spray from the ocean adds salt to the harsh conditions that make plants surrender.
70,000 trees have sunk roots in the island's arid ground despite the unforgiving environment.More than 200,000 are needed to stem the tide of erosion.He says it's hard work.
The trees from 2006 have already grown to 6 meters.The soil on Easter Island is very poor, there aren't any minerals.Fertilizer is needed for reforestation.
The island was covered by forests until the 17th century.The ancestors of today's Easter Islanders are thought to have cut down the trees in order to build canoes, houses and fires to burn the dead.
There were no trees to be seen when the island was discovered by Europeans.
The quest to build statues became an obsession for Teao's ancestors, a message to other tribes about how powerful they were.
She says that it was almost a disaster to force the people to make their statues so they wouldn't forget.They forgot everything to concentrate on their obsession.
In his book, "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed," Diamond describes the decline of island life as ecocide.Easter Island's downfall is thought to have been caused by the felling of the last tree in the 1600s.
The islanders didn't have the most important resource to help them roll the stone giants.They didn't have anything to make canoes to go fishing in the sea.The areas closest to the coast were overfished, and the island's birds were wiped out.
Without trees and forest cover, the surface soil was exposed to the rain and strong trade winds.Diamond's thesis is that the earth was not suitable for growing food.
Without trees the soil was not protected.Easter Island society collapsed because they couldn't go out to sea to harpoon tuna.
Wars started because of competition over the few resources that remained.The islanders are said to have used cannibalism to survive.The fiasco on Easter Island may indicate a direction for societal collapse in the future according to Diamond.
There is some forest on the island today.There were two rounds of planting in the 1970s.
The island's environment is not suited for the growth of the species because they use too much water.
It forms a monoculture once it is established.Edmunds has been involved in efforts to reforest the southwestern tip of the island with the aito.
France has supported the project, but more funding is needed.The program has been put on hold because of lack of investment.
It can't be described as a success.He says that reforestation is the only way to protect the island from further erosion because it is a cancer that is slowly corroding the land.
The island's inhabitants are fond of the eucalyptus.Locals use it to make furniture and other timber products.It would be a crime to clear the tree now for environmental reasons.