AT A GLANCE
How old and where is the oldest spruce in the world?
The world's oldest spruce, Old Tjikko, is around 9,550 years old and is located in the Fulufjället mountain range in central Sweden. The tree has reached its enormous age through vegetative propagation, during which its root system repeatedly developed new offshoots.
How old is the oldest spruce in the world?
The oldest spruce, called Old Tjikko, is ca. 9,550 years old. This cannot be said exactly, since the dating method used only allows approximate values.
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Researcher Leif Kullmann, Professor of Ecology at Umeå University at the time the tree was discovered in 2008, not only tested the tree itself, but also the root system. This consists of several parts of different ages, whereby the actual trunk is only a few centuries old.
Where is the oldest spruce in the world?
The oldest spruce in the world is in central Sweden near the border with Norway. The mountain range called Fulufjället is now a nature reserve and very sparsely populated – like Sweden in general. The region has an inhospitable climate, which also explains the stunted growth of the spruce: according to theory, Old Tjikko only has survived because it has repeatedly formed offshoots - for example because its branches touched the ground and took root there have. This vegetative (i.e. H. asexual) reproduction also explains the extremely old age, since the genetic material has always remained the same over the millennia.
Is Old Tjikko also the oldest tree in the world?
Strictly speaking, Old Tjikko is not that oldest tree in the world, but about a clone tree that keeps sprouting from an ancient root system. This is comparable to the more than 80,000-year-old clone colony "Pando" located in the USA, which has formed an entire forest of cloned aspen trunks. The root system is long-lived, while the individual trunks in the case of the aspen can be no more than 200 years old and in the case of spruce no more than 600 years.
What is special about Old Tjikko?
The special thing about Old Tjikko is not only his sheer age, but also the fact that he was able to get that old in the far north. Up until 11,000 years ago – i.e. in the last ice age – the region was still covered by a thick layer of ice, which actually made plant growth impossible. Today, science assumes that some areas of Scandinavia - for example along the coast - remained ice-free.
In addition, until the discovery of the tree, researchers had assumed that spruces only came to Scandinavia around 2000 years ago. Old Tjikko has disproved this thesis.
Is Old Tjikko endangered?
Spruce trees are particularly at risk from climate change because they are particularly susceptible to drought and pest infestation. The species is actually quite undemanding, especially with regard to the nutrient supply, but requires quite a lot of water in the form of precipitation. With climate change leading to higher temperatures and less rainfall, Old Tjikko is also threatened with extinction.
Tip
Can spruces also be planted in the garden?
In principle, you can also plant spruces in your garden, but this should be large enough - the trees can be up to 60 meters high. However, in view of climate change, you should switch to more robust species such as hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), gingko (Gingko biloba) or honey locust (Legidae, Gleditsia triacanthos).
