One of the extinct flowering plants of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is the Toromiro Tree, Sophora toromiro Skottsb. (Leguminosae) which is, however, maintained in cultivation in several Botanic gardens. An outline of the history of the flora of the island, and the Toromiro in particular, are given. The efforts of the Toromiro Management Group to secure its future, and its successful re-introduction to the island, are described. Conservation of the Extinct Toromiro Tree Easter Island (Rapa Nui), has been described as the most remote piece of inhabited land on the planet; located about 2250 km from Pitcairn, the nearest inhabited island. This tiny island, an area of 166 sq. km or 64 square miles, shares with St Helena (South Atlantic) and Rodrigues (Indian Ocean) the fate of having suffered the complete transformation of its terrestrial ecology, virtually no natural habitat survives. Such islands are characterized by high levels of environmental degradation and species extinction. The main phase of environmental destruction on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has passed, the opportunity now exists to restore degraded habitats and re-introduce lost components of the biota. One lost element of Easter Islands biota is the Toromiro tree, Sophora toromiro, now only surviving in cultivation. The conservation of this threatened legume is being co-ordinated by the Toromiro Management Group a collaborative consortium of botanic gardens, geneticists, foresters and archaeologists. The first European visitors commented on the islands treeless state; Roggeveen noted in 1722 that the island was destitute of large trees, Gonzalez in 1770 commented not a single tree is to be found capable of furnishing a plank so much as six inches in width. The causes of the islands complete loss of original terrestrial habitats can be traced to ecological and social change following colonization by Polynesians around 400 AD. Palynological data suggests that the island was covered by a low scrub and woodland with palm thicket. The grassland areas have expanded as a result of forest clearance, cultivation and associated soil erosion. By the seventeenth century the island was a man-made landscape of agricultural plots with only small patches of the original scrub surviving. This process of degradation was completed in 1866 with the introduction of rabbits, sheep, pigs, horses and cattle. kew.org/conservation/cpdu/Toromiro/toro_con.htm
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 20:53:10 +0000
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