The world's oldest living tree discovered in Sweden? A critical review

Abstract

In 2008, there was news that in Sweden a 9550-year-old spruce was discovered which would accordingly be the oldest living tree in the world. The pros and cons of the claim are discussed in this review based on the original publications by the discoverers of the spruce. The findings presented here support the conclusion that spruces in the Swedish mountains may reach 100–600 years of age but not nearly 10,000 years. There is neither evidence of genetic continuity between dead wood remains discovered beneath the allegedly 9550-year-old tree and the living tree itself. Nor is there evidence of a clonal origin of the spruce. On the contrary, it must be assumed that it reproduces sexually. In fact, there are good reasons to endorse the generally accepted view that Great Basin bristlecone pines are the oldest living trees on earth.

Keywords:

• asexual reproduction
• Great Basin bristlecone pine
• Norway spruce
• Picea abies
• post-glacial climate
• sexual reproduction

Acknowledgements

The staff of Fulufjäll National Park were most helpful during my stay there on 5th/6th September 2011. My thanks go especially to Ms Sofia Tiger and Mr Niklas Eberl for open-minded discussions and for joining me on a remarkable sunny morning on Fulufjäll. Prof Leif Kullman kindly provided two of his publications not available via the internet. He was invited to comment on this paper, however, he preferred not to do so. Prof Andreas Roloff reviewed the German manuscript and gave valuable recommendations. The editors and the reviewers added important suggestions. Dr Mark Reed and Dr David Herling converted my raw English version into comprehensible language. Except for the original quotations, any remaining mistakes are of course mine. It should be noted that a precursor article on Old Tjikko was published by me in German in the ‘Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologischen Gesellschaft’ (vol. 97, 2012).