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There are lianas everywhere—the long, pliable vines that climb tree trunks, the same ones Tarzan swung from in his film, or the ones you see in the jungle.Yes, all over, and that’s the issue.It’s not that we don’t want Tarzan to turn against them and lose his allure, but new studies are proving that these plants—which are thought of as plant parasites—are spreading like invasive species, causing a true epidemic that is harming the jungle ecology.
Lianas: a plague
In the world’s rainforests, these vines are proliferating like true parasites—so much so that they are visible from space. And Leiden University researchers have discovered why: they are growing between 10% and 24% every ten years.
Additionally, you may believe that this attractive plant poses no threat, yet
What do lianas cause?
Liannas reduce carbon storage capacity by up to 95%, start by uprooting trees from their natural habitats, and, to top it all off, they are so reflective that satellites can already see their signature from space!
Known as the “green pandemic,” it threatens half of the world’s biodiversity, exacerbates climate change, and changes the dynamics of tropical rainforests. And that is not what we want!
More CO , more vines
All plants are growing more quickly due to the record-high amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, but lianas benefit even more from this situation because they don’t spend money building robust trunks; instead, these cunning climbers grab support from trees and create light leaves. In this manner, they quickly proliferate, consume sunlight, and eventually erode the strength of the other trees.
Pandemic
For many years, the rise in lianas was believed to be a Latin American phenomena, but more than 300 studies show that the expansion is also affecting Africa and Southeast Asia, suggesting that it is more akin to a metastasis. There are plots in parts of the Congo, Brazil, and Panama where the vines totally obstruct the growth of new trees, transforming primary forests into gloomy, unproductive tangles.
Only in 2016 was this species classified as invasive, having started to covertly hatch its evil scheme.
The forest loses its lungs
As you may recall from elementary school, healthy trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO) and store it in their biomass for many years. They release some of the stored carbon when lianas suffocate them because photosynthesis is reduced and the wood dies. According to simulation models, the forest may lose up to 30% of its capacity to absorb CO in regions with a high liana density.
Problems in the food chain
Plants that require intermediate light levels vanish because lianas cover the canopy, reducing the amount of light that reaches the forest floor and changing microclimates. Insects, birds, and specialized animals accompany them. an impact on biodiversity that cascades.
Detected from space
Indeed, learning that these lianas can be seen from space has been amazing. Although this is not good news because it indicates that there are too many of them, it does mean that these plants can now be observed from above because they give off a characteristic sheen in photos that is essential for mapping them and determining whether their growth is slowing down or continuing to spread like the plague.
What should we do?
We must lower CO to prevent this plant from spreading further and to preserve our wonderful woods, which are our extra lungs on Earth. The data is really complicated, and many people recommend cutting the lianas to remove the trees from these vines, but that procedure is costly and challenging to implement globally.
