Frankincense threatened by conditions in
Ethiopia
21 December, 2011 | By Elizabeth Weise (USA TODAY)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world may still have gold and myrrh, but it's quite possible that
frankincense could become a thing of the past, given ecological
pressures on the arid lands where it grows in Ethiopia.
Their paper in today's edition of the Journal of Applied Ecology
finds that the Ethiopian trees that produce much of the world's
frankincense are declining so dramatically that production could be
halved over the next 15 years and the trees themselves could decline
by 90% in the next 50 years
Frankincense has been harvested in the wild in the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa since ancient times.
The frankincense carried by the three wise men probably came from
that area but those trees are mostly gone, says Frans Bongers, a
professor of tropical forest ecology and management at the
University of Wageningen in Holland.
"There's still some in Somalia, but no one knows how much. The
main production area in the world right now is Ethiopia," says
Bongers, who has studied the trees for the past six years.
Specialists have long said frankincense trees aren't doing well, but
the paper is the first hard data on them, and the outlook is not good.
Frankincense is harvested by making cuts in the tree bark during the
dry season. A cut is made every two or three weeks, and the resin
that emerges to heal it is collected.
How much frankincense is produced worldwide isn't clearly known.
Bongers says Europe imports about 400 tons each year, and about
half of that goes on to China for use in traditional medicine while the
rest goes to churches and perfume makers.
Most of that comes from Ethiopia. A long-term government push to
relocate people from the highlands to the lowlands, where the trees
grow, is putting tremendous pressure on the ecosystem.
Additionally, a shift in harvesting from large, government-controlled
companies to private collectives has increased the pressure to
collect larger amounts of resin. The old contracts were for up to 40
years, Bongers says, which gave incentive to preserve the resource.
The new contracts can be as short as two years, "so they get what
they can get," he says.
Heavy tapping appears to weaken the trees, making them more
prone to attacks by longhorn beetles. Up to 85% of fully grown
trees that die are heavily infested with beetles, the researchers found.
No new trees are replacing them. The highlanders brought cattle,
and seedlings don't survive to become saplings because cattle eat
them and collectors burn the grasslands to make it easier to get to
the trees, killing saplings as well, Bongers says.
An Arizona man is in a small way trying to stem this tide. Jason
Eslamieh, originally from Iran, grows and sells all 19 boswellia
species, including the frankincense-producing type, at his nursery in
Tempe.
Seeds from the papyrifera subspecies, which makes frankincense,
are notoriously difficult to germinate. Two to eight out of a hundred
grow into a plant, says Eslamieh, who authored a book on the topic.
He says they must have undergone a population bottleneck due to
over-harvesting in the past, leaving them inbred and weak. He's
trying to create hybrids that are more vigorous.
His nursery, Miniatree.com, sells more than 100,000 seeds a year
as well as 1,000 papyrifera plants. A 4-inch seedling costs $55,
and fully mature trees can sell for up to $1,000.
The trees grow readily in Southern California, Florida and parts of
Arizona.
Once the trees are about 4 years old, they can be tapped for
frankincense. "A small tree is enough for personal use," he says.
It's possible that climate change is affecting the trees. Bongers has a
research project underway and hopes to have an answer within two
years.
Courtesy
Ethiopia
21 December, 2011 | By Elizabeth Weise (USA TODAY)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world may still have gold and myrrh, but it's quite possible that
frankincense could become a thing of the past, given ecological
pressures on the arid lands where it grows in Ethiopia.
- The storied resin, known to
millions as one of the three gifts of
the Magi, the wise men who visited
Jesus after his birth, is made from
gum produced by the boswellia
papyrifera tree. Its "bitter
perfume" is used as incense in
religious rituals in many cultures, as
well as an ingredient in perfume
and Chinese traditional medicine.
- Dutch and Ethiopian researchers
studying populations of the
scraggly, scrub-like trees in
northern Ethiopia found that as
many as 7% of the trees are dying
each year, and seedlings are not
Their paper in today's edition of the Journal of Applied Ecology
finds that the Ethiopian trees that produce much of the world's
frankincense are declining so dramatically that production could be
halved over the next 15 years and the trees themselves could decline
by 90% in the next 50 years
Frankincense has been harvested in the wild in the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa since ancient times.
The frankincense carried by the three wise men probably came from
that area but those trees are mostly gone, says Frans Bongers, a
professor of tropical forest ecology and management at the
University of Wageningen in Holland.
"There's still some in Somalia, but no one knows how much. The
main production area in the world right now is Ethiopia," says
Bongers, who has studied the trees for the past six years.
Specialists have long said frankincense trees aren't doing well, but
the paper is the first hard data on them, and the outlook is not good.
Frankincense is harvested by making cuts in the tree bark during the
dry season. A cut is made every two or three weeks, and the resin
that emerges to heal it is collected.
How much frankincense is produced worldwide isn't clearly known.
Bongers says Europe imports about 400 tons each year, and about
half of that goes on to China for use in traditional medicine while the
rest goes to churches and perfume makers.
Most of that comes from Ethiopia. A long-term government push to
relocate people from the highlands to the lowlands, where the trees
grow, is putting tremendous pressure on the ecosystem.
Additionally, a shift in harvesting from large, government-controlled
companies to private collectives has increased the pressure to
collect larger amounts of resin. The old contracts were for up to 40
years, Bongers says, which gave incentive to preserve the resource.
The new contracts can be as short as two years, "so they get what
they can get," he says.
Heavy tapping appears to weaken the trees, making them more
prone to attacks by longhorn beetles. Up to 85% of fully grown
trees that die are heavily infested with beetles, the researchers found.
No new trees are replacing them. The highlanders brought cattle,
and seedlings don't survive to become saplings because cattle eat
them and collectors burn the grasslands to make it easier to get to
the trees, killing saplings as well, Bongers says.
An Arizona man is in a small way trying to stem this tide. Jason
Eslamieh, originally from Iran, grows and sells all 19 boswellia
species, including the frankincense-producing type, at his nursery in
Tempe.
Seeds from the papyrifera subspecies, which makes frankincense,
are notoriously difficult to germinate. Two to eight out of a hundred
grow into a plant, says Eslamieh, who authored a book on the topic.
He says they must have undergone a population bottleneck due to
over-harvesting in the past, leaving them inbred and weak. He's
trying to create hybrids that are more vigorous.
His nursery, Miniatree.com, sells more than 100,000 seeds a year
as well as 1,000 papyrifera plants. A 4-inch seedling costs $55,
and fully mature trees can sell for up to $1,000.
The trees grow readily in Southern California, Florida and parts of
Arizona.
Once the trees are about 4 years old, they can be tapped for
frankincense. "A small tree is enough for personal use," he says.
It's possible that climate change is affecting the trees. Bongers has a
research project underway and hopes to have an answer within two
years.
Courtesy
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