Trees that travel grow tougher: pines far from home grow up to four times faster

A pine planted an ocean away from home does not just survive — sometimes it thrives. Across 192 sites on four continents, researchers compared conifers growing in their native ranges with the same kinds planted in the Southern Hemisphere, and found the travellers can grow up to four times faster and shrug off drought better. The likely secret is a fuller pantry: the transplanted trees store more sugars and starches, energy they can spend when dry seasons bite. Published in Nature, the finding matters for a warming world — forests are among our biggest carbon stores, and knowing which trees stay resilient, and why, helps plant the ones that will still be standing in fifty years.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: tech innovation