Africa's unique trees defy climate challenges and continue to flourish

Dr Sarah Venter, a baobab ecologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and the founder and director of the Baobab Foundation, looked at the health of adult baobabs in Southern Africa and then in Africa as a whole to establish if more recent human-induced climate change has started having an effect on these magnificent trees.

- Dr Sarah Venter

Baobabs reach extraordinarily old ages; some have been found to be thousands of years old. During their life spans, elder baobabs have survived erratic climate conditions.

As an ecologist, I have spent the past 17 years studying these trees. Over the course of 2023, I travelled across Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe visiting baobabs located in the area as well as 13 other particularly large and old specimens, including Limpopo’s Sagole (named after a local hot spring), the largest baobab in the world.

As I travelled, I became increasingly impressed by baobabs’ fortitude. Not only is the cohort of Southern Africa’s oldest and largest baobabs enduring, but most baobab populations in Africa are healthy and stable, with very low mortality rates.

Indeed, nothing I saw supported the notion that Africa’s baobabs are dying as a result of climate change. This is important because baobabs have been a source of food, fibre and medicine for centuries, and over 300 uses for these trees have been identified.

In the past decade, the growing trade in baobab fruit products has supported thousands of rural communities, especially marginalised women who are able to collect fruit from the trees around their homesteads and sell it for much-needed income. The possible demise of baobabs would have devastating consequences for many people and local economies.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT NEW FOR MILLENNIAL TREES

Baobabs originated in Africa, where they are found in 32 countries. It is well known that these trees reach extraordinary ages. Radiocarbon dating has repeatedly found baobabs well over 1,000 years old, with the oldest among them reaching 2,500 years.