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Has Not Occurred in Almost 100 Years – Scientists Discover New Unusual Genus of Fairy Lantern

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Sunday, March 24, 2024

The newly discovered plant Relictithismia kimotsukiensis probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole family and retains ancestral characteristics. This history is reflected in the plant’s name. Credit: Suetsugu KenjiA new species and genus of fairy lantern, tiny glass-like white plants that feed on fungi, has been discovered in Japan. In the country renowned for its extensive flora research, the discovery of a new plant genus is extremely rare and has not occurred in almost 100 years.Fairy lanterns, or Thismiaceae as they are known to botany, are very unusual plants found mainly in tropical but also in subtropical and temperate regions. First of all, they are not green and do not engage in photosynthesis, but rather feed on fungal mycelia in the ground. As a consequence, they are often hidden under fallen leaves and only for a brief period produce above-ground flowers that look like glasswork.The Japanese name for Thismia, one of the major groups within this family, is “Tanuki-no-shokudai,” which means “raccoon dog’s candleholder” and refers both to their shape and their underground lifestyle. However, they are also extremely rare and difficult to find. Discovery and Research“At present, approximately 100 species within the family have been identified, nearly half of which are known only from their first discovery, sometimes from a single specimen,” explains Kobe University botanist Suetsugu Kenji, who is an internationally renowned expert on non-photosynthetic plants.One of the most intriguing unique characteristics of the newly described Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is that its stamens (the male part of the plant) touch the stigma (the female part), thus facilitating self-pollination. This adaptation is likely advantageous for a plant that lives under fallen leaves in dark forests where pollinators are scarce. Credit: Tagane ShuichiroSuetsugu has long-standing collaborations with local botanists who have access to secluded areas all over Japan. He says, “The dedication of Japanese amateur researchers to revealing the hidden flora of these regions has been crucial in identifying species unknown to science.” And so, when he was sent a specimen of a fairy lantern that a hobby botanist had found and that a local expert thought represented a new species of the genus of Tanuki-no-shokudai, he knew he had to investigate.However, it soon became clear “that this plant was not included in any of the existing genera (such as Thismia) because of its unique features, and it became necessary to obtain additional individuals for further examination.” So, he went to Kimotsuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, where the discovery had been made, but could not find any other samples. However, a year later he tried again and got lucky: They found four more plants, all in the same narrow area.The analysis of the newly discovered Relictithismia kimotsukiensis showed that it is different enough from all known genera of Thismiaceae to warrant its classification as an entirely new genus. “Our expertise in various aspects of botany enabled us to merge traditional taxonomic methods with modern molecular techniques, offering a comprehensive approach to our research,” says Kobe University botanist Suetsugu Kenji. Credit: Tagane ShuichiroA New Genus UnveiledThe Kobe University expert now published his analysis in the scientific Journal of Plant Research. Based both on morphological and genetic analysis, the team concluded that the plant is not only a new species, but in fact different enough from Tanuki-no-shokudai to be a different genus — the next level of relationship above species.The researchers think the plant probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole Thismiaceae family and retains characteristics that are common to the family but have been lost in the Thismia genus. This is the reason Suetsugu chose the name “Mujina-no-shokudai,” or “badger’s candleholder”: “Mujina” is an old Japanese word for a badger, but sometimes has also been used for the raccoon dog which it resembles but is different from. Thus, the name reflects the plant’s relationship with Thismia. The Latin name Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is similar, as it can be translated as “Thismia relict of Kimotsuki.”Members of the family Thismiaceae feed on fungal mycelia in the ground. As a consequence, they are often hidden under fallen leaves and only for a brief period produce above-ground flowers that look like glasswork. Credit: Tagane Shuichiro“Japan is one of the regions in the world where botanical surveys are most advanced, making the discovery of new plant species extremely rare, and the discovery of a new genus even more so,” says Suetsugu. In fact, the last discovery of a new vascular plant concurrently identified as a separate genus was the discovery of Japonolirion in 1930, almost 100 years ago. Suetsugu explains, “This research might suggest that many other new species may be hiding in regions previously thought to be well-studied and underscores the critical need for ongoing exploration and investigation of the planet’s flora both abroad and at home.”A plant that feeds on fungi and is so limited in its local spread is also exceptionally vulnerable to environmental change. This motivates Suetsugu to deepen his research, saying, “A segment of our future research will be dedicated to ecological studies aimed at deciphering the interactions between Relictithismia and its fungal hosts, in addition to assessing the impact of environmental alterations on these associations.”Reference: “Relictithismia kimotsukiensis, a new genus and species of Thismiaceae from southern Japan with discussions on its phylogenetic relationship” by Kenji Suetsugu, Yasunori Nakamura, Takafumi Nakano and Shuichiro Tagane, 29 February 2024, Journal of Plant Research.DOI: 10.1007/s10265-024-01532-5This study was supported by the PRESTO program (grant JPMJPR21D6) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the JSPS KAKENHI (grant 21K06307), and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (grant JPMEERF20204001) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. It was conducted in collaboration with an independent researcher and researchers from Kyoto University and the Kagoshima University Museum.

A new species and genus of fairy lantern, tiny glass-like white plants that feed on fungi, has been discovered in Japan. In the country renowned...

The newly discovered plant Relictithismia kimotsukiensis probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole family and retains ancestral characteristics. This history is reflected in the plant’s name. Credit: Suetsugu Kenji

A new species and genus of fairy lantern, tiny glass-like white plants that feed on fungi, has been discovered in Japan. In the country renowned for its extensive flora research, the discovery of a new plant genus is extremely rare and has not occurred in almost 100 years.

Fairy lanterns, or Thismiaceae as they are known to botany, are very unusual plants found mainly in tropical but also in subtropical and temperate regions. First of all, they are not green and do not engage in photosynthesis, but rather feed on fungal mycelia in the ground. As a consequence, they are often hidden under fallen leaves and only for a brief period produce above-ground flowers that look like glasswork.

The Japanese name for Thismia, one of the major groups within this family, is “Tanuki-no-shokudai,” which means “raccoon dog’s candleholder” and refers both to their shape and their underground lifestyle. However, they are also extremely rare and difficult to find.

Discovery and Research

“At present, approximately 100 species within the family have been identified, nearly half of which are known only from their first discovery, sometimes from a single specimen,” explains Kobe University botanist Suetsugu Kenji, who is an internationally renowned expert on non-photosynthetic plants.

One of the most intriguing unique characteristics of the newly described Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is that its stamens (the male part of the plant) touch the stigma (the female part), thus facilitating self-pollination. This adaptation is likely advantageous for a plant that lives under fallen leaves in dark forests where pollinators are scarce. Credit: Tagane Shuichiro

Suetsugu has long-standing collaborations with local botanists who have access to secluded areas all over Japan. He says, “The dedication of Japanese amateur researchers to revealing the hidden flora of these regions has been crucial in identifying species unknown to science.” And so, when he was sent a specimen of a fairy lantern that a hobby botanist had found and that a local expert thought represented a new species of the genus of Tanuki-no-shokudai, he knew he had to investigate.

However, it soon became clear “that this plant was not included in any of the existing genera (such as Thismia) because of its unique features, and it became necessary to obtain additional individuals for further examination.” So, he went to Kimotsuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, where the discovery had been made, but could not find any other samples. However, a year later he tried again and got lucky: They found four more plants, all in the same narrow area.

The analysis of the newly discovered Relictithismia kimotsukiensis showed that it is different enough from all known genera of Thismiaceae to warrant its classification as an entirely new genus. “Our expertise in various aspects of botany enabled us to merge traditional taxonomic methods with modern molecular techniques, offering a comprehensive approach to our research,” says Kobe University botanist Suetsugu Kenji. Credit: Tagane Shuichiro

A New Genus Unveiled

The Kobe University expert now published his analysis in the scientific Journal of Plant Research. Based both on morphological and genetic analysis, the team concluded that the plant is not only a new species, but in fact different enough from Tanuki-no-shokudai to be a different genus — the next level of relationship above species.

The researchers think the plant probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole Thismiaceae family and retains characteristics that are common to the family but have been lost in the Thismia genus. This is the reason Suetsugu chose the name “Mujina-no-shokudai,” or “badger’s candleholder”: “Mujina” is an old Japanese word for a badger, but sometimes has also been used for the raccoon dog which it resembles but is different from. Thus, the name reflects the plant’s relationship with Thismia. The Latin name Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is similar, as it can be translated as “Thismia relict of Kimotsuki.”

Members of the family Thismiaceae feed on fungal mycelia in the ground. As a consequence, they are often hidden under fallen leaves and only for a brief period produce above-ground flowers that look like glasswork. Credit: Tagane Shuichiro

“Japan is one of the regions in the world where botanical surveys are most advanced, making the discovery of new plant species extremely rare, and the discovery of a new genus even more so,” says Suetsugu. In fact, the last discovery of a new vascular plant concurrently identified as a separate genus was the discovery of Japonolirion in 1930, almost 100 years ago. Suetsugu explains, “This research might suggest that many other new species may be hiding in regions previously thought to be well-studied and underscores the critical need for ongoing exploration and investigation of the planet’s flora both abroad and at home.”

A plant that feeds on fungi and is so limited in its local spread is also exceptionally vulnerable to environmental change. This motivates Suetsugu to deepen his research, saying, “A segment of our future research will be dedicated to ecological studies aimed at deciphering the interactions between Relictithismia and its fungal hosts, in addition to assessing the impact of environmental alterations on these associations.”

Reference: “Relictithismia kimotsukiensis, a new genus and species of Thismiaceae from southern Japan with discussions on its phylogenetic relationship” by Kenji Suetsugu, Yasunori Nakamura, Takafumi Nakano and Shuichiro Tagane, 29 February 2024, Journal of Plant Research.
DOI: 10.1007/s10265-024-01532-5

This study was supported by the PRESTO program (grant JPMJPR21D6) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the JSPS KAKENHI (grant 21K06307), and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (grant JPMEERF20204001) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. It was conducted in collaboration with an independent researcher and researchers from Kyoto University and the Kagoshima University Museum.

Read the full story here.

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Amidst habitat destruction and ecological grief, let’s make a New Year’s resolution for nature — to care for beetles and butterflies, rainforests and reefs, ourselves, and future generations.

Jakub Maculewicz/ShutterstockIt’s just past midnight in the cool, ancient forests of Tasmania. We’ve spent a long day and night surveying endangered Tasmanian devils. All around, small animals scurry through bushes. A devil calls in the darkness. Microbats swoop and swirl as a spotted-tailed quoll slips through the shadows. Working here is spine-tingling and electric. Weeks later, we’re in a moonlit forest in Victoria. It was logged a few years earlier and burnt by bushfire a few decades before that. The old trees are gone. So too are the quolls, bats and moths that once dwelled in their hollows. Invasive blackberry chokes what remains. The silence is deafening, and devastating. In our work as field biologists, we often desperately wish we saw a place before it was cleared, logged, burnt or overtaken by invasive species. Other times, we hold back tears as we read about the latest environmental catastrophe, overwhelmed by anger and frustration. Perhaps you know this feeling of grief? The new year is a chance to reflect on the past and consider future possibilities. Perhaps we’ll sign up to the gym, spend more time with family, or – perish the thought – finally get to the dentist. But let us also set a New Year’s resolution for nature. Let’s make a personal pledge to care for beetles and butterflies, rainforests and reefs, for ourselves, and for future generations. Because now, more than ever — when the natural world seems to be on the precipice — it’s not too late to be a catalyst for positive change. A trail of destruction Our work brings us up close to the beauty of nature. We trek through deserts, stumble through forests and trudge over snowy mountains to study and conserve Australia’s unique wildlife. But we must also confront devastating destruction. The underlying purpose of our work – trying to save species before it is too late – is almost always heartbreaking. It is a race we cannot always win. Since Europeans arrived in Australia, much of the country has become severely degraded. Around 40% of our forests and 99% of grasslands have been cut down and cleared, and much of what remains is under threat. Thousands of ecological communities, plants and animal species are threatened with extinction. And it seems the news only gets worse. The global average temperature for the past decade is the warmest on record, about 1.2°C above the pre-industrial average. Severe bushfires are more and more likely. Yet Australia’s federal government recently approved four coalmine expansions. Australia remains a global logging and deforestation hotspot. We have the world’s worst record for mammal extinctions and lead the world in arresting climate and environment protesters. To top it off, a recent study estimated more than 9,000 native Australian animals, mostly invertebrates, have gone extinct since European arrival. That’s between one and three species every week. Many will never be formally listed, named or known. Is this how the world ends – not with a bang, but with a silent invertebrate apocalypse? More than 9,000 native Australian animals, mostly invertebrates, have gone extinct since European arrival. Pictured: the Kangaroo Island forester moth, which was badly affected by the Black Summer fires. David A. Young This destruction provokes ecological grief The degradation of our environment affects more than distant plants and animals. It resonates deeply with many humans, too. Ecological grief is an emotional response to environmental degradation and climate change, damaging our mental health and wellbeing. It can manifest as sadness, anxiety, despair or helplessness. Or it might bring a profound sense of guilt that we all, directly or indirectly, contribute to the problems facing the natural world. Academic research on ecological grief is growing rapidly, but the concept has been around for decades. 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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change.A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. 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Two reports revealing the extent of financial losses from native forest logging in New South Wales raise questions about the economic viability of the industry.The state government’s forestry corporation “consistently made a loss” by paying contractors more for harvesting and haulage than it earned from delivery of timber to sawmills, a NSW Independent Pricing and Review Tribunal (Ipart) report found.“[Forestry Corporation of NSW’s] delivery charge does not fully recover its native timber harvesting and haulage costs, including contract and administration costs, and has not done so for at least the last 10 years,” the report said.The tribunal recommended the state government review the long-term feasibility of native timber harvesting, noting the majority of wood supply agreements were due for renewal in 2028. It also suggested ways to improve cost recovery.Ipart’s findings followed the release of the state forestry corporation’s 2023-24 annual report, which disclosed a $29m loss for its native hardwood forest division in the past year, and losses totalling $72m since 2020-21.The corporation’s annual report said poor financial returns were linked to “operational challenges” and external factors such as extreme weather, regulatory changes such as protections for koalas and greater gliders, and legal injunctions by community groups.Graham Phelan, an economist with Frontier Economics who analysed NSW forestry’s financial status in 2023, said the Ipart report was a timely and valuable contribution in the context of nature policy and forestry reform in NSW which would encourage evidence-based decision-making.Phelan said public native forestry struggled financially, offering “poor returns to taxpayers at best”. “The government should look at the economic costs and benefits of the native forestry business in NSW and consider whether community welfare is served by continuing this practice.”Poor financial performance and environmental costs were among a “myriad of reasons” why governments in Victoria and Western Australia had decided to end native timber harvesting in their states, he said.There were also benefits associated with leaving native forests standing, such as carbon sequestration, erosion control, flood mitigation and tourism, Phelan added. For example, a Victorian government report valued those benefits at up to $12bn, compared with about $89m if harvested for timber and firewood.Public native forestry was a small segment of the NSW forestry sector, he said, alongside a much larger non-native softwood plantation business that served construction and cardboard markets.According to Ipart’s report, about 9% of timber harvested in Australia was native hardwood, and NSW was the second-largest producer of native timber logs after Tasmania.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionA forestry corporation spokesperson said the organisation managed nearly 2m hectares of public native forests on behalf of the NSW government, harvesting about 1% annually. Timber revenue “subsidised” management activities such as firefighting, pests, weeds, conservation and road access, which were only partly government funded.The corporation would undertake Ipart’s recommendations that related to managing prices and costs, the spokesperson said.Ipart’s review of native timber harvesting and haulage costs from 2019 to 2022 was yet to be published but has been provided to the NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, and was released to the ABC under freedom of information laws.Guardian Australia has asked the NSW government for a response to Ipart’s findings.Justin Field from Forest Alliance NSW, a coalition of environmental and conservation groups, said native forestry was a “bad deal for taxpayers”.Field, formerly a member of the NSW legislative council, said it was astonishing that taxpayers were “literally paying” to cut down forests that sustained koalas and greater gliders and provided clean water for drinking.“This is just another piece of evidence to show that native forest logging in New South Wales is economically unviable. We know that it’s ecologically unsustainable, and we know that the forestry corporation has been losing money on its hardwood division for the last decade.”The report provided an opportunity for the state government to end native forest logging and shift towards an industry based on 100% sustainable plantations, he said.

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On a recent Sunday morning, 25 Angelenos gathered under a large rusty leaf fig tree for a walking tree tour in a local Culver City park that was also playing host to an outdoor tai chi class as well as a group of yogis.As we walked past Chinese elm trees, coast live oaks and Brazilian pepper trees, Stephanie Carrie shared the history of the city’s celebrated palm trees with a rapt audience. Many of today’s trees, planted in the 1930s, are approaching the end of their lives – and while they have become symbols of the city, they also guzzle water, fueling calls to replace them with drought-resistant trees.“The most important thing about LA is our natural environment and our community, and the best way to provide for that community is different types of trees that will give back and protect us moving into the future,” said Carrie.She’s not a professional photographer or an arborist, but Carrie and her popular Instagram account, Trees of LA (@treesofla), help people identify some of the 700,000 street trees that make up the world’s most diverse urban forest. Offline, the New Zealand-born, southern California-raised creator hosts a variety of city tree tours that educate attendees about environmental sustainability, canopy inequality and the countless benefits of paying attention to the trees around us.Trees featured on the Trees of LA Instagram account. Photograph: Instagram account, Trees of LA“It’s so joyful to take something that started on a screen and bring it into the real world,” said Carrie, who uses her storytelling background as an actor and screenwriter to engage followers. “Living in urban environments isn’t a natural situation for human beings, so we’re kind of reconnecting to something we took for granted when we did not live in urban environments.”There are nearly 1,000 kinds of street trees in Los Angeles. Some local favorites include the flowering jacaranda, which turn places like Pasadena, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica into seas of purple in the late spring. Saucer magnolia trees in West Los Angeles and Westwood produce large pink and white blossoms in the winter, while gold medallion trees bloom vivid clusters of yellow flowers that are seen throughout the city in late spring and into summer.The trees most associated with LA are, of course, its palms. They were first brought to California in the 18th century by Spanish missionaries who wanted to use the fronds in religious services. Real estate developers later imported more to help sell the city as an exotic tropical paradise. Then, before the 1932 Olympics, 25,000 were planted to beautify streets and an additional 40,000 were added as part of the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration project.The palm trees planted in the 1930s are now considered “senior citizens”; an invasive insect, the red palm weevil, has already killed others. Along with using vast amounts of groundwater, the palms are prone to disease and don’t offer shade. As they die off, environmentalists say other species should take their place, though it would alter the image of a city known for caring deeply about its appearance.While Carrie supports diversifying LA’s canopy – the trees that offer shade across a city – she believes it would be ideal to keep palms in a few locations to celebrate their place in the city’s history.For years, Carrie, like numerous other city residents, suffered from a phenomenon known as “tree blindness”, and hadn’t paid much attention to the urban forest around her. It wasn’t until 2016, when she took maternity leave with her first child, that she started taking regular walks in a local park and had an epiphany.Stephanie Carrie looking up in a canyon live oak in Idyllwild, California. Photograph: Matt Wyatt“When I started to notice and focus my attention on a tree and the details of that tree, my brain was just filled with what felt like incredibly positive chemicals,” said Carrie. “It really felt like a meditation. My anxiety went away and I was truly in the moment.”It’s proven that spending time around trees helps us reduce stress, lower blood pressure and screen out noise pollution. Experts say that looking at trees, or simply watching leaves blow in the wind, helps replenish our cognitive reserve, the brain’s ability to solve problems and deal with challenges (especially important for those of us who stare at screens all day.) Studies have found that hospital patients who can see trees from their beds recover faster than those who can’t see them.Trees are not only good for our mental and physical health, but they often serve as a first line of defense against air pollution and combating heat, making them key to fighting the climate crisis around the globe.City trees reduce energy usage, shade our streets and homes, and minimize the “heat island effect”, common in cities where roads, buildings and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit heat at higher levels compared to forests and bodies of water. Trees clean our air, store carbon, serve as a wildlife habitat and soak up storm water, which reduces runoff and soil erosion.Stephanie Carrie during a tree tour in Carlson Park in Culver City, California. Photograph: Matt WyattBut decades of environmental injustice means that while Los Angeles’ average canopy cover is 21%, South Los Angeles’ is 13% – and only 5% in some parts of the region. The city of Los Angeles’ Green New Deal was designed to increase trees primarily in low-income communities disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. It set out to plant 90,000 trees by the end of 2021, but the pandemic and other challenges slowed planting rates; by 2022, only 65,000 trees had been planted.TreePeople, an environmental non-profit, has identified 28 climate-resilient tree species for Los Angeles’ urban forest and advocates for increasing their presence in the canopy. Trees such as weeping bottle brush, silverleaf oak and rosewood offer serious cooling benefits, use little water, are resistant to major pests and diseases, and reduce air pollution – all key attributes for an environment facing increased heat and long-term drought.A new study authored by the University of Southern California and the South LA Tree Coalition found that while people were aware of the real harms caused by tree inequity and the role trees play in cooling neighborhoods, they were also concerned about the ways tree planting intersects with homelessness and gentrification, since the arrival of new trees can be associated with rising rents. “It’s important to work with communities rather than just coming in and having strangers planting a bunch of trees,” said Carrie.Experts say that messaging about trees being critical infrastructure for communities needs to be clearer, and that people must also plant trees on their own property since residences make up a large majority of plantable space in the city (the narrow planter strips that run along streets are typically occupied by utility lines both above and below ground).By sharing their love of trees, Carrie and other like-minded tree content creators are helping to spread that message to people all over the world, and connecting with one another.When she traveled to Mexico City in 2022, Carrie spent the day looking at trees with Francisco Arjona of Árboles de la CDMX. She’s also met up in real life with Paul Wood, author of London Is a Forest, who runs the Street Tree account, to gaze at trees in London, and is friendly with the creators of Trees of Delhi, Trees of Barcelona and Trees of Cambridge, among many others.“There’s a special bond between people who are trying to photograph trees during the perfect time of day so we can bring the majesty of that day to a tiny square on Instagram and share with people,” said Carrie. “It’s almost like a beautiful language of love.”

Forests

Water

Climate

Protect This Place: Latin America’s Gran Chaco Forest

Beef and soybean agriculture are carving up this massive forest, which spans four countries and has some of the world’s highest deforestation rates. The post Protect This Place: Latin America’s Gran Chaco Forest appeared first on The Revelator.

The Place: The Gran Chaco covers 303,782 square miles spanning Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil. It is the second-largest natural forest in Latin America and has experienced some of the highest levels of deforestation on Earth. Why it matters: The Gran Chaco is home to 25 different Indigenous communities at risk of displacement from their ancestral lands by deforestation and land conversion, leaving them with nowhere else to go. Its great variety of ecosystems are also home to endemic, endangered, and threatened plants and wildlife, including around 3,400 species of plants, 150 mammals, and 500 bird species. Several IUCN Red List species, such as jaguars, peccaries, solitary eagles, giant anteaters, and lowland tapirs, are facing habitat loss within the Paraguayan Chaco, as land use change poses an increased threat to their survival. A Gran Chaco resident. Photo: Quadriz The threat: The rapid forest loss within the Gran Chaco is primarily driven by the expansion of commercial agriculture, particularly beef and soybean production, with Paraguay emerging as a top 10 exporter of these commodities. Contributing to this trend are the largely private ownership of the majority of the Paraguayan Chaco and a legal framework that allows up to 75% of privately owned forest land to be deforested for agricultural purposes. Agricultural fields seen from the air, carving up the Gran Chaco. Photo: Quadriz My place in this place: I have been working as country manager of Quadriz Paraguay since February 2021. As a nature lover, I have a particular fascination with the Chaco, as a wildly unique haven of biodiversity and a vital carbon sink that is often overlooked internationally. I have experienced the joy of conservation work. Seeing the beauty of my country and the animals we share it with has been a privilege that has fueled my dedication to the protection of the forest for generations to come. Who’s protecting it now: In response to this crisis, initiatives like the Corazón Verde del Chaco (Green Heart of the Chaco) project, developed by my organization Quadriz, are working to protect native forests and provide safe havens for wildlife. This project safeguards 124 square miles (32,000 hectares) of Gran Chaco forest and offers landowners an economic alternative to commercial agriculture through carbon credits. What this place needs: To conserve the Gran Chaco for future generations and prevent further biodiversity loss, we need to support a constructive dialogue between landowners and impact investors. By raising awareness and increasing understanding of the environmental, ecological and economic value of the Chaco, we can boost conservation efforts. Formal recognition of the very real threat facing the unique ecology of the Gran Chaco has provided the foundations for research and pilot programs. Now ongoing collaboration and awareness are required. Lessons from the fight: My work with Quadriz has taught me that both public policy and carbon policy frameworks are effective instruments to prevent deforestation and biodiversity loss. But speed and scale are limiting factors. To overcome these we need partnerships that channel climate finance to ensure immediate forest conservation actions that generate multiple benefits for the community. Another important lesson is to celebrate and share the images we have been able to capture of jaguars, snakes, birds, and the landscape’s natural beauty to convey what a truly spectacular place the Paraguayan Chaco is and underscore the importance of our work to protect it. Follow the fight: We regularly share news and updates on our project’s progress, conservation updates and snapshots of our work on our website, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Scroll down to find our “Republish” button Previously in The Revelator: Protect This Place: Saving India’s Shola Sky Islands The post Protect This Place: Latin America’s Gran Chaco Forest appeared first on The Revelator.

Forests

Agriculture

Climate

Suggested Viewing

Juskatla

Juskatla weaves together perspectives of the people who live on the islands of Haida Gwaii—an archipelago on Canada’s Northwest coast, and the ancestral territories of the Haida Nation. From industrial loggers who harvest trees from ancient forests, to Sphenia Jones, a Haida matriarch who bears an intimate knowledge of her People’s territories, Juskatla meditates on the divergent ways of being that shape the islands and its people.

Forests

Indigenous

Culture

Foresters

Some teenagers kidnap a kid in the forest and take him to their boss in a cottage.

Forests

Fiction

Youth

El Monte (The Woodland)

In Sierra Maestra, Cuba, José Manuel explains to his granddaughter Malena his world view through deep knowledge of natures' mysteries. Plants and people have great resemblances and must respect each other. José Manuel hopes that Malena inherits the knowledge that he obtained from the father and she becomes a great mountain tree.

Forests

Nature

Family

The Windshield Effect

As a child, Julian and his mother, Sylvie, could spend hours out in nature admiring the soundtrack of the plentiful insects. One day, a grown Julian is out on a run in those same woods and when he takes off his ear buds, realizes he cannot hear anything at all. A trip to the audiologist assures him there is nothing wrong with his ears, but he is still left shaken. Back in the forest, he comes to the realization that the insects themselves have gone silent in a mass die off. Also known as the "Windshield Phenomenon" that documents how bugs no longer splatter on windshields as we drive as insect populations are down more than 45% over the last 4 decades.

Forests

Extinction

Nature

Among Giants

Among Giants begins three years into the McKay tree-sit- a response to Green Diamond Resource Company’s clearcutting of redwood forests. Atop his tiny platform a hundred feet up in the ancient redwood canopy, Farmer must battle the elements and avoid isolation as he fights for a sustainable future. The film uses a restrained verite style that reflects the pace of life in the tree village. As Farmer outlasts a vicious storm, counts the rings on a felled tree, and trumps through a recent clear cut, the film asks questions about what it means to follow one’s beliefs and make a difference in the world.

Forests

Activism

Nature

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