Madagascar’s ancient baobab forests are being restored by communities – with a little help from AI

Sat, 8 Jun 2024 04:08:54 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/madagascars-ancient-baobab-forests-are-being-restored-by-communities-with-a-little-help-from-ai-229019>

"Six of the world’s eight baobab species are indigenous to Madagascar, where
the distinctive trees with giant trunks have historically grown in huge
forests. But these forests are threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture – 4,000
hectares of baobab forest in Madagascar are destroyed every year. Baobab trees
can live for 1,000 years and one hectare of land can support eight fully grown
baobab trees. But many have been left orphaned – standing alone in barren areas
with no contact with the wild animals that spread their seeds, helping the
baobabs to reproduce.

Tropical ecologist Seheno Andriantsaralaza has been researching the seed
dispersal of baobab trees in Madagascar since 2009. She is the president of the
Group of Specialists Passionate about Baobabs of Madagascar and a founder and
principal investigator of the Assessment-Research-Outreach Baobab Project. She
explains how the project works with women to replant baobab seedlings and
harvest the fruit of existing trees sustainably."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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