Predicting the age of ancient trees and the factors influencing their growth of Lychee trees (Litchi chinensis)
Source abstract
Abstract
Heritage trees possess significant ecological, historical, and landscape value within urban built environments. Predicting the tree age by tree size can enhance heritage tree registration and the development of public policy for heritage tree conservation. However, the relationship between the size and age of ancient trees is still unknown. This study aims to explore the best-fitted models that predict the relationships between tree age and breast and base girth of ancient lychee tree ( Litchi chinensis ) in China, and factors influencing the growth. The results indicate that there are 5629 ancient lychee trees. This study proposes recognizing lychee tree with a breast height girth of 1.31 m and a base height girth of 1.74 m or more as ancient. The random forest model identified socioeconomic factors as determining factors for ancient lychee tree growth. This study has significant implications for the heritage conservation of ancient lychee trees.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Forest ecology and management · Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies · Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (59)
Show source-provided references
1. Piovesan, G., Cannon, C. H., Liu, J. J. & Munné-Bosch, S. Ancient trees: irreplaceable conservation resource for ecosystem restoration. Trends Ecol. Evol. 37, 1025–1028 (2022).10.1016/j.tree.2022.09.003 ↗
2. Gilhen-Baker, M., Roviello, V., Beresford-Kroeger, D. & Roviello, G. N. Old growth forests and large old trees as critical organisms connecting ecosystems and human health. A review. Environ. Chem. Lett. 20, 1529–1538 (2022).10.1007/s10311-021-01372-y ↗
3. Nolan, V., Reader, T., Gilbert, F. & Atkinson, N. The Ancient Tree Inventory: a summary of the results of a 15 year citizen science project recording ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK. Biodivers. Conserv. 29, 3103–3129 (2020).10.1007/s10531-020-02033-2 ↗
4. Liu, J. et al. Diversity and density patterns of large old trees in China. Sci. Total Environ. 655, 255–262 (2019).10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.147 ↗
5. Huang, L. et al. Local cultural beliefs and practices promote conservation of large old trees in an ethnic minority region in southwestern China. Urban For. Urban Green. 49,126584 (2020).10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126584 ↗
6. Szilágyi, K., Lahmar, C., Rosa, C. A. P. & Szabó, K. Living heritage in the urban landscape. Case study of the Budapest World Heritage Site Andrássy Avenue. Sustainability13, 4699 (2021).10.3390/su13094699 ↗
7. Chen, B. Urbanization and decline of old growth windbreak trees on private homesteads: a case study in Ryukyu Island Villages, Japan. Forests 11, 990 (2020).10.3390/f11090990 ↗
8. Jim, C. Y. Spatial differentiation and landscape-ecological assessment of heritage trees in urban Guangzhou (China). Landsc. Urban Plan. 69, 51 (2004).10.1016/j.landurbplan.2003.09.008 ↗
9. McIntyre, P. J. et al. Twentieth-century shifts in forest structure in California: denser forests, smaller trees, and increased dominance of oaks. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA112, 1458–1463 (2015).10.1073/pnas.1410186112 ↗
10. Stagoll, K., Lindenmayer, D. B., Knight, E., Fischer, J. & Manning, A. D. Large trees are keystone structures in urban parks. Conserv. Lett. 5, 115–122 (2012).10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00216.x ↗
11. Moga, C. I. et al. Environmental determinants of the old oaks in wood-pastures from a changing traditional social–ecological system of Romania. Ambio 45, 480–489 (2016).10.1007/s13280-015-0758-1 ↗
12. Lai, P. Y., Jim, C. Y., Tang, G. D., Hong, W. J. & Zhang, H. Spatial differentiation of heritage trees in the rapidly-urbanizing city of Shenzhen, China. Landsc. Urban Plan. 181, 148–156 (2019).10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.09.017 ↗
13. Wang, L. et al. Multifeature analyses of vascular cambial cells reveal longevity mechanisms in old Ginkgo biloba trees. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 4, 2201–2210 (2020).10.1073/pnas.1916548117 ↗
14. Mu, Y. et al. Size-focused conservation may fail to protect the world’s oldest trees. Curr. Biol. 33, 4641–4649 (2023).10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.046 ↗
15. Kozák, D. et al. Importance of conserving large and old trees to continuity of tree-related microhabitats. Conserv. Biol. 37, e14066 (2023).10.1111/cobi.14066 ↗
16. Camarero, J. J., Touchan, R., Valeriano, C., Bashour, I. & Stephan, J. Dating the Noah trees to improve age estimates in centennial and millennial olive trees. Dendrochronologia 84, 126181 (2024).10.1016/j.dendro.2024.126181 ↗
17. Pretzsch, H. et al. Structure, growth and growing space efficiency of Pinus radiata (D. Don) trees as affected by their social position. South For. 83, 158–169 (2021).10.2989/20702620.2021.1911590 ↗
18. Li, J. et al. Dendroclimatological study of ancient trees integrating non-destructive techniques. Front. Plant Sci. 15, 1469675 (2024).10.3389/fpls.2024.1469675 ↗
19. Zhang, Y. et al. An approach to estimate individual tree ages based on time series diameter data—a test case for three subtropical tree species in China. Forests 13, 614 (2022).10.3390/f13040614 ↗
20. Henry, C. R. & Walters, M. B. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) age structure reveals limited establishment and development of age cohorts in response to selection management in northern hardwood forests. For. Ecol. Manag. 546, 121356 (2023).10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121356 ↗
21. Li, K. & Zhang, G. Species diversity and distribution pattern of heritage trees in the rapidly-urbanizing province of Jiangsu, China. Forests 12, 1543 (2021).10.3390/f12111543 ↗
22. Liu, W., Xue, Y. & Shang, C. Spatial distribution analysis and driving factors of traditional villages in Henan province: a comprehensive approach via geospatial techniques and statistical models. Herit. Sci. 11, 185 (2023).10.1186/s40494-023-01038-8 ↗
23. Hou, H. et al. Differential characteristics and driving forces of the spatial distribution of heritage trees in Luoyang, an ancient capital of China. Front. Environ. Sci. 10, 993333 (2022).10.3389/fenvs.2022.993333 ↗
24. Nolan, V., Reader, T., Gilbert, F. & Atkinson, N. Historical maps confirm the accuracy of zero-inflated model predictions of ancient tree abundance in English wood-pastures. J. Appl Ecol. 58, 2661–2672 (2021).10.1111/1365-2664.13996 ↗
25. Yang, Y., Bao, G., Zhang, D. & Zhai, C. Spatial distribution and driving factors of old and notable trees in a fast-developing city, Northeast China. Sustainability 14, 7937 (2022).10.3390/su14137937 ↗
26. Pasques, O. & Munne-Bosch, S. Physiological mechanisms underlying extreme longevity in mountain pine trees. Plant Physiol. 191, 974–985 (2023).10.1093/plphys/kiac540 ↗
27. Liu, J., Jiang, R. & Zhang, G. Number and distribution of large old ginkgos in east China: implications for regional conservation. Nat. Conserv. 42, 71–87 (2020).10.3897/natureconservation.42.59284 ↗
28. Huang, L. et al. Biogeographic and anthropogenic factors shaping the distribution and species assemblage of heritage trees in China. Urban Urban Green. 50, 126652 (2020).10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126652 ↗
29. Hartel, T. et al. Abundance of large old trees in wood-pastures of Transylvania (Romania). Sci. Total Environ. 613-614, 263–270 (2018).10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.048 ↗
30. Liu, J. et al. Age and spatial distribution of the world’s oldest trees. Conserv. Biol. 36, e13907 (2022).10.1111/cobi.13907 ↗
31. Xie, C., Yan, J., Liu, D. & Jim, C. Y. Diversity and abundance of large old trees in Hainan Island: spatial analysis and environmental correlations. Biotropica 56, e13391 (2024).10.1111/btp.13391 ↗
32. Fick, S. E. & Hijmans, R. J. WorldClim 2: new 1km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. Int. J. Climatol. 12, 4302–4315 (2017).10.1002/joc.5086 ↗
33. Chen, Y., Wu, G., Ge, Y. & Xu, Z. Mapping gridded gross domestic product distribution of China using deep learning with multiple geospatial big data. IEEE J-STARS, 15, 1791–1802 (2022).10.1109/JSTARS.2022.3148448 ↗
34. Xu, Z. et al. Generating gridded gross domestic product data for China using geographically weighted ensemble learning. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 3, 123 (2023).10.3390/ijgi12030123 ↗
35. Chen, J., Chen, J. & A, P. L. Global land cover mapping at 30 m resolution: a POK-based operational approach. ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens. 103, 7–27 (2014).10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2014.09.002 ↗
36. Zhang, L. et al. A prolonged artificial nighttime-light dataset of China (1984–2020). Sci. Data 11, 414 (2024).10.1038/s41597-024-03223-1 ↗
37. Xu, X. L. China Population Spatial Distribution Kilometer Grid Dataset. In Resource Environmental Science Data Registry and Publication System (http://www.resdc.cn/DOI) (2017).
38. Jiang, B., Larsen, L., Deal, B. & Sullivan, W. C. A dose–response curve describing the relationship between tree cover density and landscape preference. Landsc. Urban Plan 139, 16–25 (2015).10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.018 ↗
39. Zheng, J. et al. Which ornamental features of bamboo plants will attract the people most? Urban For. Urban Gree. 61, 127101–127109 (2021).10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127101 ↗
40. Zheng, J., Huang, Y., Chen, Y., Guan, L. & Liu, Q. Subjective preference and visual attention to the attributes of ornamental plants in urban green space: an eye-tracking study. Forests 13, 1871 (2022).10.3390/f13111871 ↗
41. Kuhn, S., Egert, B., Neumann, S. & Steinbeck, C. Building blocks for automated elucidation of metabolites: machine learning methods for NMR prediction. BMC Bioinform. 9, 400 (2008).10.1186/1471-2105-9-400 ↗
42. Wang, J. et al. Geographical detectors-based health risk assessment and its application in the neural tube defects study of the Heshun region, China. Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci. 1, 107–127 (2010).10.1080/13658810802443457 ↗
43. Zheng, J., Chen, Y. & Guan, L. Which factors affect the visual preference and user experience: a case study of the Mulan River Greenway in Putian City, China. Forests 15, 1529 (2024).10.3390/f15091529 ↗
44. Wang, J., Zhang, T. & Fu, B. A measure of spatial stratified heterogeneity. Ecol. Indic. 67, 250–256 (2016).10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.052 ↗
45. Semenzato, P., Cattaneo, D. & Dainese, M. Growth prediction for five tree species in an Italian urban forest. Urban For. Urban Green. 10, 169–176 (2011).10.1016/j.ufug.2011.05.001 ↗
46. Borges Silva, L., Teixeira, A., Alves, M., Elias, R. B. & Silva, L. Tree age determination in the widespread woody plant invader Pittosporum undulatum. For. Ecol. Manag. 400, 457–467 (2017).10.1016/j.foreco.2017.06.027 ↗
47. Sergi, M. Long-lived trees are not immortal. Trends Plant Sci. 9, 846–849 (2020).
48. Xie, C., Dong, W. & Liu, D. Species diversity and distribution pattern of old trees in Wuzhong District, Suzhou City. Pak. J. Bot. 4, 1335–1343 (2020).
49. Lindenmayer, D. B. Conserving large old trees as small natural features. Biol. Conserv. 211, 51–59 (2017).10.1016/j.biocon.2016.11.012 ↗
50. Asanok, L., Kamyo, T., Norsaengsri, M., Yotapakdee, T. & Navakam, S. Assessment of the diversity of large tree species in rapidly urbanizing areas along the Chao Phraya River Rim, Central Thailand. Sustainability13, 10342 (2021).10.3390/su131810342 ↗
51. Noreen, A. M. E., Niissalo, M. A., Lum, S. K. Y. & Webb, E. L. Persistence of long-distance, insect-mediated pollen movement for a tropical canopy tree species in remnant forest patches in an urban landscape. Heredity 117, 472–480 (2016).10.1038/hdy.2016.64 ↗
52. Ouattara, Y. et al. Genetic diversity and structure of kola tree (Cola nitida) clones germplasm in Côte d’Ivoire using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers. Biodivers. J. Biol. Divers. 23, 4677–4685 (2022).
53. Gomes Marques, I. et al. Phenotypic variation and genetic diversity in European Alnus species. Forestry 98, 332–343 (2025).10.1093/forestry/cpae039 ↗
54. Fu, Q. et al. Discussion of the distribution pattern and driving factors of 2 large old tree resources in Beijing. Forests 13, 1500 (2022).10.3390/f13091500 ↗
55. Zhang, S., Landuyt, D., Dhiedt, E., De Frenne, P. & Verheyen, K. Tree species diversity affects litter decomposition via modification of the microenvironment. Ecosystems 27, 508–522 (2024).10.1007/s10021-024-00903-2 ↗
56. Hong, D. N. T., Nguyen, C. T., Diem, P. K., Hoang, N. X. & Kafy, A. A. Assessment on controlling factors of urbanization possibility in a newly developing city of the Vietnamese Mekong delta using logistic regression analysis. Phys. Chem. Earth Parts A/B/C. 126, 103065 (2022).10.1016/j.pce.2021.103065 ↗
57. Deng, J. Y., van Noort, S., Compton, S. G., Chen, Y. & Greeff, J. M. The population genetic structure of Ficus craterostoma in South Africa. S Afr. J. Bot. 178, 235–243 (2025).10.1016/j.sajb.2025.01.033 ↗
58. Huang, L. et al. Human activities and species biological traits drive the long-term persistence of old trees in human-dominated landscapes. Nat. Plants 9, 898–907 (2023).10.1038/s41477-023-01412-1 ↗
59. Yao, N. et al. Protecting rural large old trees with multi-scale strategies: integrating spatial analysis and the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) for socio-cultural value assessment. Forests 15, 18 (2024).10.3390/f15010018 ↗