Scientists reach the tallest tree in the Amazon

The giant tree, whose crown rises above the canopy in the Iratapuru River Nature Reserve in northern Brazil, is a dinizia excelsa 88.5 meters high and 9.9 meters in diameter.

Researchers first spotted it in satellite images in 2019 and a team of local researchers, conservationists and guides attempted to reach it the same year.

But after a ten-day trek over difficult terrain, exhausted, with few provisions and a member of the team who fell ill, they had to turn back.

Three other expeditions to the isolated region of the Jari Valley, located on the border between the states of Amapá and Pará, have made it possible to reach several other giant trees, including the largest Brazil nut tree ever recorded in the Amazon. , 66 meters high.

But the enormous dinizia excelsa remained untouchable until the September 12-25 expedition, during which researchers traveled 250 km by boat and more than 20 km on foot through mountainous jungle to reach it.

One of the 19 expedition members has been bitten by what the team doctor thinks is a poisonous spider.

But it was worth it, says forestry engineer Diego Armando Silva of the Federal University of Amapá.

"It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Simply divine," Silva told AFP.

The group took samples that will be analyzed to find out, in particular, the age of the tree (at least 400 to 600 years, according to Mr. Silva) and the amount of carbon it stores.

The giant trees in this area weigh up to 400,000 tonnes, about half of which is carbon absorbed from the atmosphere, according to Silva.

Despite their remoteness, these giants are nevertheless threatened.

Dinizia excelsa wood is prized by loggers, and the reserve is invaded by illegal gold diggers, explains Jakeline Pereira, from the NGO Imazon, who took part in the expedition.

Over the past three years, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.