Original version

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

The Forum

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

The Forum: Tracing the roots of ancient trees

Bristlecone Pine

01/07/2021 GMT

Tracing the roots of ancient trees

BBC World Service - The Forum, Tracing the roots of ancient trees

What can we learn from the oldest trees on earth?

What are the origins of trees, and what can we learn from the oldest species?

Have you ever sat against the trunk of a large old tree, looked up into its canopy and wondered what it’s seen in its lifetime? There are many species of tree that survive well beyond a human lifespan, for hundreds of years, and some that can live far longer than that, spanning millennia. What can we learn from large old trees around the world? How do they influence the environment? And how can we preserve them for future generations?

Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss ancient trees are Peter Crane, former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London; Valerie Trouet, Professor at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona in the US; and conservation biologist, Michael Gaige.

Produced by Jo Impey for BBC World Service

Image: A Bristlecone Pine, one of the oldest living organisms on earth

Image credit: Piriya Photography / Getty Images

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Forum

Tracing the roots of ancient trees

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

About BBC World Service