Taiwan's tallest tree has been discovered and measured. The giant tree is a Taiwania cryptomerioides standing 84.1 meters high, equivalent to a 20-storey building. It has been named "Heaven Sword of the Da'an River" and is approximately 1,000 years old. The conifer features a remarkably straight trunk that rises dramatically into the forest canopy.
Dr. Rebecca Hsu from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute led the research project. Her team spent over a decade mapping and measuring Taiwan's tallest trees, scanning forests from the air before hiking through difficult terrain to take measurements in person. Their study was published this month in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. The tree supports an entire ecosystem, with flying squirrels and owls resting inside hollow trunks, yellow rhododendron flowers blooming on lower branches, and rare orchids growing in the upper canopy.
Giant trees worldwide face increasing threats despite their ecological importance. The tallest living tree on Earth is a coast redwood in California's Redwood National Park, measuring 116 meters. Chris Swanston of Save the Redwoods League explains that height creates biodiversity, with massive old-growth trees functioning as neighborhoods for dozens of species. Additionally, older trees serve as crucial defenses against climate change due to their capacity to absorb planet-warming carbon.
Sources: theguardian.com
The words in bold are from the article.
| 1. discovered | a. regardless of |
| 2. approximately | b. vital |
| 3. dramatically | c. released |
| 4. difficult | d. flowering |
| 5. published | e. houses |
| 6. supports | f. challenging |
| 7. blooming | g. impressively |
| 8. despite | h. about |
| 9. capacity | i. ability |
| 10. crucial | j. found |
1.j 2.h 3.g 4.f 5.c 6.e 7.d 8.a 9.i 10.b