Detecting longevity oak from the Middle Ages

With a height of nearly 20m and an average circumference of about 73cm, an oak tree in the Kalkalpen National Park has been determined to have lived since the Middle Ages to date.

A group of Italian scientists have discovered the oldest oak tree in Europe in the Kalkalpen National Park in Austria.

A corner of Kalkalpen National Park - (Photo: nationalparksaustria.at).

At a press conference on August 14, the team led by Dr. Alfredo Di Filippo said that the team used a method of calculating the number of cross-cut wooden rings in the tree to determine the age of the oak tree, according to which the tree grows. from 1474, ie the end of the Middle Ages.

According to the tree calculation, this oak tree is 546 years old, which is more than 20 years old than the oldest brother in Europe in the Kalkalpen park.

Although "longevity" is like that, the shape of the tree is quite modest, only nearly 20m high with an average circumference of about 73cm.

With an area of ​​up to 20,000 hectares, the Kalkalpen National Park has up to 5,000 hectares of "old" oak oak and it is for this reason that the site has been included in the list of UNESCO world natural heritage sites. in 2017.

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