The scientific talk series Let's Talk About the Biosphere will close the year with the presentation of a preliminary study of singular trees in Lanzarote, an exhaustive research project on the island's most significant specimens for their natural and heritage values.
The activity will take place next Thursday, November 27, at 7:30 PM in the UNED's Aula Magna, a collaborating entity. Access is free and open to all interested individuals, with no prior registration required. The presentation will be given by biologist Rafael Paredes and his collaborators, geographer Famara Guadalupe, and oceanographer Gara Goñi.
In 2024, as part of the activities related to the Year of Photosynthesis, the Reserve's office commissioned this inventory to the GEA Environmental Studies Office, which, along with the aforementioned team, has had the assistance of other Biology professionals, such as Carmen Gloria Rodríguez and Manuel Miranda, and the forestry technician, Daniel Bethencourt
According to its creators, the scope of study for the initial catalog is the entire surface of the Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve. Therefore, to compile this first list of singular trees, groups, and groves, a preliminary survey was conducted in all municipalities on the island, encompassing urban, rural, and protected natural spaces.
As they point out, the conservation of these elements is essential to keep the island's history and its population alive. "Each plant element tells a story of adaptation and survival in a hostile territory, and its protection is an act of resistance to keep alive the legacy of past generations, who planted and cared for them. Furthermore, some of the trees proposed in this first list are landmarks for people, almost like a mental map."
The anthropological approach to seeking the deep relationship between plant elements and the population represents a shift in focus that has allowed not only the inventorying of trees from a botanical perspective, but also the recovery of stories and memories that link them to island belonging in different times, in the manner of a collective construction of the landscape.
The document contains a table of data on trees, groves, and singular collections with updated information on the condition of the specimens, their location, and observations, as well as a complementary analysis of ethnographic data that could add heritage value to the plant list. The session can be followed via streaming at the link.