by Liliana Usvat
Blog 160-365
The highest living tree in the world is magical in several ways. Used by Andean people since the days ot the Incas, the paper tree is truly unique.
Some are very stunted, but most polylepis trees grow 33 to 49 feet tall, sometimes reaching 148 feet at lower levels.
Polylepis
forests are unique ecosystems harboring about 20 different plant
species of what the locals call queñua, as well as numerous
insect and bird specialists living only in these forests. Once
thought to be patchy by nature, Polylepis forests are now recognized
to be highly endangered.
In Inca times, Polylepis woodlands were strictly protected
The Polylepis forest is located in the Andes Mountains. Polylepis forests occur at altitudes of up to 4,500 meters in sheltered areas. Most of the original forest is in the cold Western Cordillera of Bolivia. There is only ten percent left of the original forest.
There are over 15 million trees in just the Andean zone. The exotic plants have grown close to the Polylepis forest causing shading of the native trees. In the Polylepis forest there are 20 evergreen tree species that are characterized by gnarled shapes. The trees have a thick and dense laminated bark with small green and gray leaves. Loss of high mountain forests is considered the major cause of water scarcity in many parts of the Andes. A lot of forest birds live in the Polylepis forest. The Polylepis forest is a very bright colored forest.
Polylepis is a group of tree species belonging to the rose family. Fifteen species of the Polylepis genus grow in South America, from northern Venezuela to northern Chile and Argentina. The highest number of species grow in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
The forest has to adapt to the unstable water supply. Birds had to adapt to the small range sizes. The Peruvian Polylepis forests contain three of South America's endangered birds. Great colored parrots and toucans live in the forests, as does the Royal Cinclodes. The forests are vegetated with little-leafed plants. Polylepis trees are evergreens, so they begin photosynthesis as soon as the weather gets warmer. The small leaves prevent water loss (cold, dry conditions). The thick, red peeling bark on the trees protects them from animals and fire damage.
The largest stand of polylepis in Ecuador is contained within the highland portion of the Cayambe-Coca Biological Reserve, and estimated to be several thousand years old.
The name polylepis means “many scales” in Latin, correctly describing the papery, layered bark that characterizes this tree type.
The Andean people use the Polylepis forest for many reasons. Fifty-six percent of the forest is used for medicines. Twelve percent is used for human food. And nine percent is used for construction and ritual purposes. Over all about thirty-five percent of the most useful plant species are only found inside the forest. The animals, like the birds use the forest for food.
Mountain forest ecosystems have drastically changed due to human disruption such as cutting, burning and grazing, which causes fragmentation of the forest landscape. Polylepis contains some unique forms of autoecological (population ecology) and synecological relationships. Since they are located at high altitudes, they are equipped with specializations that help them withstand the harsh conditions
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The Tropical Polylepis woodlands are highly endangered. The forests began disappearing during the time of the Incas, when much of its wood was used for building material and firewood. After the conquistadors brought their sheep and cattle, more forests were lost to grazing. Today native peoples still use the wood for building and heat. Loss of the forests have caused landslides threatening villages and roads. Only 10% of Bolivia's original Western Cordillera
Polylepis forests remain. Only 1% of the forest survives in the Eastern Cordillera where eight out of nine of Bolivia's Polylepis species grow. Loss of the habitat is rapidly destroying one of Ecuador's most precious treasures: the natural diversity. There is a project going on to help the Polylepis forest. The project involves buying 400 acres of native Andean forest. By purchasing this land, they can replant it with Polylepis trees and stop water erosion.
Tree planting with Polylepis; 33,000 trees of Polylepis racemosa have been planted to join up fragments of existing woodland, and more than 70% were still alive 2-4 years after planting.
Blog 160-365
The highest living tree in the world is magical in several ways. Used by Andean people since the days ot the Incas, the paper tree is truly unique.
Some are very stunted, but most polylepis trees grow 33 to 49 feet tall, sometimes reaching 148 feet at lower levels.
In Inca times, Polylepis woodlands were strictly protected
The Polylepis forest is located in the Andes Mountains. Polylepis forests occur at altitudes of up to 4,500 meters in sheltered areas. Most of the original forest is in the cold Western Cordillera of Bolivia. There is only ten percent left of the original forest.
There are over 15 million trees in just the Andean zone. The exotic plants have grown close to the Polylepis forest causing shading of the native trees. In the Polylepis forest there are 20 evergreen tree species that are characterized by gnarled shapes. The trees have a thick and dense laminated bark with small green and gray leaves. Loss of high mountain forests is considered the major cause of water scarcity in many parts of the Andes. A lot of forest birds live in the Polylepis forest. The Polylepis forest is a very bright colored forest.
Polylepis is a group of tree species belonging to the rose family. Fifteen species of the Polylepis genus grow in South America, from northern Venezuela to northern Chile and Argentina. The highest number of species grow in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
The forest has to adapt to the unstable water supply. Birds had to adapt to the small range sizes. The Peruvian Polylepis forests contain three of South America's endangered birds. Great colored parrots and toucans live in the forests, as does the Royal Cinclodes. The forests are vegetated with little-leafed plants. Polylepis trees are evergreens, so they begin photosynthesis as soon as the weather gets warmer. The small leaves prevent water loss (cold, dry conditions). The thick, red peeling bark on the trees protects them from animals and fire damage.
The largest stand of polylepis in Ecuador is contained within the highland portion of the Cayambe-Coca Biological Reserve, and estimated to be several thousand years old.
The name polylepis means “many scales” in Latin, correctly describing the papery, layered bark that characterizes this tree type.
The Andean people use the Polylepis forest for many reasons. Fifty-six percent of the forest is used for medicines. Twelve percent is used for human food. And nine percent is used for construction and ritual purposes. Over all about thirty-five percent of the most useful plant species are only found inside the forest. The animals, like the birds use the forest for food.
Mountain forest ecosystems have drastically changed due to human disruption such as cutting, burning and grazing, which causes fragmentation of the forest landscape. Polylepis contains some unique forms of autoecological (population ecology) and synecological relationships. Since they are located at high altitudes, they are equipped with specializations that help them withstand the harsh conditions
.jpg)
The Tropical Polylepis woodlands are highly endangered. The forests began disappearing during the time of the Incas, when much of its wood was used for building material and firewood. After the conquistadors brought their sheep and cattle, more forests were lost to grazing. Today native peoples still use the wood for building and heat. Loss of the forests have caused landslides threatening villages and roads. Only 10% of Bolivia's original Western Cordillera
Polylepis forests remain. Only 1% of the forest survives in the Eastern Cordillera where eight out of nine of Bolivia's Polylepis species grow. Loss of the habitat is rapidly destroying one of Ecuador's most precious treasures: the natural diversity. There is a project going on to help the Polylepis forest. The project involves buying 400 acres of native Andean forest. By purchasing this land, they can replant it with Polylepis trees and stop water erosion.
Tree planting with Polylepis; 33,000 trees of Polylepis racemosa have been planted to join up fragments of existing woodland, and more than 70% were still alive 2-4 years after planting.
The legacy of Andean wisdom has opened the door to more questions than
it has answered: Who were these people? Where did they come from? And,
perhaps most important of all, what did they know in their time that
may help us solve the personal, and global crises of living we face in
ours?The answer to these and similar questions lies in
unlocking the secrets they left behind—the secret of fast-growing, high
yield and sustainable crops, the use of minerals, rare herbs and
heart-based emotion for advanced healing of the body, the keys to
100-plus-year-long human life spans, and much more!
The Andes Mountains of Southern Peru is one of only 5 places in the
world today with the highest concentrations of people living over 100
years of age!
Ancient Andeans built sophisticated agricultural terraces that could
optimize soil temperature by 5 degrees at a time to find the best
conditions for their crops!
The
new generation of children come with a deep understanding of care and
respect for Earth (knowledge they definitely did not learn from us) … it
is the message of Mother Earth (Pachamama for the Andean peoples), a
very clear message. We must reconnect with Nature, we must remember the
sacredness of our relationship with creation, as part of divine
creation, part of Nature.
Come
to the understanding that it was society and its powers that forced the
separation of the human being from Nature, with principles based on
selfishness and greed, which created concepts like ‘private property’
and borders!! And in the process nature was outlawed; how could nature
dare to connect all plant, animal and mineral kingdoms in one planet!
The
existence of a collective plant consciousness was denied; the existence
of a divine vital force powering a harmonic life cycle for all animal
life on the planet was ignored; and the truth of minerals on Earth, that
despite not being able to breath like plants and animals, they are
alive and are able to record energy, was hidden.
The
Sacred Andean Tradition teaches and helps us to remember how simple it
is to live in balance and harmony. We learn to integrate creation
(Nature) in all dimensional aspects and realities (that what we call
real and that what we call virtual reality), always in spiral evolution,
always in a dynamic way, always in reciprocity, always in unconditional
love, always respecting all life, always in Unity.
About Forests Logging Practices as "Investments"
About Forests Logging Practices as "Investments"
I
received yesterday an unsolicited e-mail regarding investing. The
e-mail solicited money to invest in logging companies that operate in
Brazilian Forest. Who allow these people to cut forests in foreign lands
so that a person in another country to make a profit of $8-16 as they
advertised. It is moral?
Would
you want to have a person from a foreign country to come to your
backyard to cut the trees that provide you with oxygen, rain, soil,
shade? Why are these practice are allowed? Are forests in other
countries less valuable that one your country?
In
the process, our globalised human race is depleting the recourses, is
destroying the land, is polluting the waters, is destabilising the
ecosystems, in other words, is hurting the planet.
We
have reached the point where our ‘advanced technology’ is going to
obliterate the humanity that produced it in the first place! What are we
leaving for the next generations? Should we just resign ourselves to
destroy our world civilisation and hope for the re-birth of another
human civilisation some day? Haven’t we learnt anything from past
civilisations?
