Australian researchers inoculate trees against extinction

by Rich Bowden - Jul 24 2008, 23:41

Native trees in Western Australia's south-west under risk of extinction are being inoculated with a combination of nutrients and fungicide in a last-ditch attempt to stave off death while puzzled researchers look for a solution to the ongoing problem.

According to scientists, the native trees began dying off in a large way during the 1990s, with extended drought, an increase in the level of salinity, erosion and the emergence of a newly-identified plant pathogen mooted as possible causes.

"The situation is becoming so dire that you are pushed to find a healthy tree in many parts of the South-West and Wheatbelt," said Professor Giles Hardy, director of the Centre of Excellence for Climate Change, Woodland and Forest Health (ECCWFH), which is based at Murdoch University. "If you go out to places like Lake Clifton, every single tree is dead," he added.

The "flu jab" inoculations, which contain trace elements including zinc, manganese and iron, as well as liquid phosphite, a biodegradable fungicide that boosts the trees’ immune response, are being trialed on hundreds of stricken trees in Yanchep and Yalgorup National Park, 130km south of Perth. The treatment has seen some signs of improvement.

"It’s like giving a human a flu jab," said Professor Hardy. "This is giving us some hope that the trees can be kept alive while we continue to do research."

The Centre hopes to extend the research to include many thousands more endangered trees, according to a release from the ScienceNetwork WA.

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