23/12/11

Frankincense trees under threat in Ethiopia

Boswellia trees could see a dramatic drop in numbers Copyright: Flickr/Alexbip

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Frankincense trees under threat in Ethiopia</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><span>The production of frankincense may be halved in the next 15 years because of a massive reduction in the number of trees that produce it, according to Dutch and Ethiopian researchers.  </span></p>
<p><span>The aromatic resin — which is used in incense and perfume, and is one of the gifts that features in the Christmas story of the Nativity — is produced by tapping <em>Boswellia</em> trees, which grow in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. </span></p>
<p><span>But a study of 12 <em>Boswellia</em> populations in Ethiopia — published in the British Ecological Society’s <em>Journal of Applied Ecology</em> this week (20 December) — found that their numbers could drop by 90 per cent over the next 50 years if the trees are not protected from fire, grazing and insect attacks. </span></p>
<p><span>Adult trees are dying as a result of fire and attack by the long-horn beetle, which lays its eggs under the bark of the tree, while seedlings are hit by fire and grazing. </span></p>
<p><span>"Current management of <em>Boswellia</em> populations is clearly unsustainable," Frans Bongers, a researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands told the <em>Press Association</em>. "Our models show that within 50 years, populations of <em>Boswellia </em>will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed." </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iSgMmvQrYEN6wpt-WlSGAN-Sb8ZQ?docId=N0559241324384281909A" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full article in <em><span>Press Association</span></em></a>  </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02078.x/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full study in the <em><span>Journal of Applied Ecology</span></em></a></span></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/frankincense-trees-under-threat-in-ethiopia/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/frankincense-trees-under-threat-in-ethiopia/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

The production of frankincense may be halved in the next 15 years because of a massive reduction in the number of trees that produce it, according to Dutch and Ethiopian researchers.

The aromatic resin — which is used in incense and perfume, and is one of the gifts that features in the Christmas story of the Nativity — is produced by tapping Boswellia trees, which grow in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

But a study of 12 Boswellia populations in Ethiopia — published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology this week (20 December) — found that their numbers could drop by 90 per cent over the next 50 years if the trees are not protected from fire, grazing and insect attacks.

Adult trees are dying as a result of fire and attack by the long-horn beetle, which lays its eggs under the bark of the tree, while seedlings are hit by fire and grazing.

"Current management of Boswellia populations is clearly unsustainable," Frans Bongers, a researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands told the Press Association. "Our models show that within 50 years, populations of Boswellia will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed."

Link to full article in Press Association

Link to full study in the Journal of Applied Ecology