Thanks to the efforts of a naturalist and hundreds of volunteers, a rare chestnut decimated by downy mildew could be saved from extinction
Il chestnut ozark it is a species that in the past inhabited the mountains of Missouri and other areas of the United States. Decimated by downy mildew in the mid-900s, this chestnut is in danger of disappearing.
For over ten years, a man named Steve Bost has been trying to save the chestnut ozark from extinction, even pollinating the remaining specimens by hand.
The chestnut ozark at risk of extinction
Il chestnut ozark (Castanea ozarkensis) is a species that in the past it populated the mountains Missouri and other parts of the United States. Until the mid-900s this tree represented 20% of the flora present in the temperate forest: the trees bore fruit from May to June, offering nourishment to wildlife and humans.
In fact, the trees produced numerous every year sweet chestnuts, food source for i native americani, for early settlers and wildlife.
Chestnut ozark was also highly prized for its rot resistance and provided excellent wood to build barns, furniture and fences.
In the 60s the specimens of the chestnut ozark were decimated by downy mildew (Cryphonectria parasitica), almost extinguishing this species of chestnut, which ended up in the red list of the iucn.
Today, ozark chestnut trees are very rare: naturalist Steve Bost scoured the woods and forests of Missouri for several years before being able to find some surviving specimens of downy mildew. Since then Steve Bost has been trying to avoid the extinction of this chestnut.
The man who is saving the chestnut ozark from extinction
After years of hiking in the woods, Steve Bost managed to find some surviving adult specimens of chestnut ozark to downy mildew.
In 2007 the man founded the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation, for the purpose of bring the native tree back to the forests and woodlands of Missouri.
The foundation's goal is to select chestnut ozark pure and pest resistant to restore the tree in forests.
Initially, Steve Bost's seemed like a utopia, but thanks to his efforts and those of hundreds of volunteers, over the last ten years it has been possible to plant over a thousand selected and disease-resistant specimens.
The restoration of this chestnut species is the result of the collaboration of university researchers, teachers, students, institutions and citizens who work at various levels to save the chestnut ozark from extinction.
In fact, the foundation works on several fronts, from research to education. The foundation's volunteers identify resistant trees, select their seeds and manually pollinate the resistant trees. The DNA of the new plants is then analyzed to confirm that it is chestnut ozark. The foundation is also involved in increasing the visibility of the project, through education projects in schools and initiatives that involve the inhabitants of the area.
Although the existence of the ozark chestnut is still fragile, thanks to the joint efforts of volunteers, this species has today good chance of saving itself from extinction.
Read also:
- Plants are dying out faster than animals
- Biodiversity alarm: three varieties of fruit have disappeared in a century, but also plants and fish
- If we don't stop the loss of biodiversity, we too will be doomed to extinction
Tatiana Maselli
Photo Credit Ozark Chinquapin Foundation
