瑞典發現萬年古樹 創造吉尼斯世界紀錄

The world's oldest living tree on record is a nearly 10,000 year-old spruce that has been discovered in central Sweden, Umeaa University said on Thursday.

Researchers had discovered a spruce with genetic material dating back 9,550 years in the Fulu mountain in Dalarna, according to Leif Kullmann, a professor of Physical Geography at the university in northwestern Sweden.

That would mean it had taken root in roughly the year 7,542 BC.

"It was a big surprise because we thought until (now) that this kind of spruce grew much later in those regions," he said.

Scientists had previously believed the world's oldest trees were 4,000 to 5,000 year-old pine trees found in North America.

The new record-breaking tree was discovered in Dalarna in 2004 when Swedish researchers were carrying out a census of tree species in the region, Kullman said.

The tree's genetic material age had been calculated using carbon dating at a laboratory in Miami, Florida.

Spruces, which according to Kullmann offer rich insight into climate change, had long been regarded as relatively newcomers in the Swedish mountain region.

The discovery of the ancient tree had therefore led to "a big change in our way of thinking," he said.

位於瑞典西北部的優密歐大學於上週四公佈，（研究人員）在瑞典中部發現了一棵有近萬年樹齡的雲杉，據考證這棵雲杉是目前世界上現存的最古老的樹。

該大學的自然地理學教授雷夫•卡爾曼說，研究人員在位於瑞典達拉那的浮露山上發現了一棵攜帶有9550年前遺傳物質的雲杉。

由此推算，這棵樹是在約公元前7542年開始生根的。

卡爾曼教授說：“這個發現讓我們很意外，因爲我們一直認爲這種雲杉是在很多年後纔開始在這一帶生長的。”

此前，科學家們一直認爲目前世界上最古老的樹是在北美髮現的松樹，這些樹已有四五千年曆史。

卡爾曼說，這棵“打破紀錄”的樹是2004年瑞典研究人員在達拉那一帶進行樹種調查時發現的。

美國佛羅里達州邁阿密的一個實驗室採用碳測年法計算出了它的樹齡。

據卡爾曼介紹，雲杉這種植物對氣候變化十分敏感，而且長期以來一直被視爲瑞典山區的“外來樹種”。

而這顆古樹的發現“大大改變了我們的看法”。