FrankenTrees: The Dangers of Genetically Modified Trees
11/10/99
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY
Genetically modified "FrankenTrees" are being haphazardly introduced
in many parts of the World, spewing pollen for hundreds of miles,
with unknown consequences. Such genetic modification to create
"super-trees" raises the "prospect of silent forests, devoid of
insects, flowers and birds." Natural forests provide far more than
timber, and efforts to replace them with sterile mono-cultures of
genetically altered trees must be resisted.
g.b.
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Title: Forests in danger from GM super-tree says WWF Field trials,
including five in UK, 'not properly controlled'
Source: Guardian
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 10, 1999
Byline: Paul Brown, Environment Correspondent
Environmentalists yesterday warned of the dangers of genetically
modified super-trees which can cross pollinate with native trees over
a distance of 400 miles and which are being grown in field trials
without knowledge of the consequences.
Other GM modifications under trial raise the prospect of silent
forests, devoid of insects, flowers and birds. The idea is to create
super-trees that grow rapidly, resist rot, and defy insect attack.
The trees would be sprayed from planes to kill all life around them.
In a report published yesterday, the World Wide Fund for Nature said
116 trials on GM trees had taken place since 1988 without proper
controls or research into the effects on the wider environment.
Seventy of the trials are being carried out in the United States and
five are in Britain.
Francis Sullivan, director of programmes for WWF-UK, said there was
the prospect of large blocks of land in Britain and North America
being given over to one super species of tree, creating sterile
environments. "The genie of genetically modified super-trees is
already out of the bottle. We must make sure it does not get out of
control otherwise such trees could run riot through the forests of
the world without us knowing what are the consequences."
The report, which was written by Rachel Owusu for WWF, says that
commercial planting of GM trees is likely to happen soon in Chile,
China and Indonesia, despite the inadequate research into
environmental impact.
The report points out that pine pollen can travel up to 400 miles to
reach another tree, making it impossible to monitor the effects of
cross fertilisation on native stock. The organisation is calling for
female only trees to be grown to avoid this risk.
Scientists are also trying to grow trees with salt tolerance and
drought and frost resistance, which could thrive in more places. One
of the experiments in Britain involves growing poplars with less
lignin, the woody substance that makes trees strong. Removing some of
this would make the trees softer and easier to pulp, which would in
turn make paper cheaper to produce.
But environmental scientists believe that unintended side-effects
pose risks, partly because trees live so long and are known to adapt
to changing circumstances. For example, poplar trees bred in Germany
not to flower - so as to avoid cross contamination - did so years
earlier than they were programmed to do so, baffling the scientists.
GM trees that do cross fertilise with each other or with native
species could create super "weed" tree species which would displace
slower growing normal trees and at the same time destroy the habitat
of many creatures.
Trees provide food and shelter to many interdependent organisms
including insects, birds and mammals. Their root systems are often
vast and closely interact with soil organisms like bacteria and
nematode worms.
Mr Sullivan said: "We are not against genetically modified trees in
principle, but we want more research and above all openness about
what is being planned. We need to know the pros and cons, about the
dangers of cross fertilisation of native species, and of sterilising
large areas of the landscape. Does this mean greater profits for a
few timber companies, or more wood for all mankind? And are silent
forests a price worth paying for these advantages?"
WWF is contacting its network of 100 companies, which are already
committed to using timber from sustainable sources, to urge them t18%
ban GM wood products. Sainsbury is among the companies which have
already pledged a ban.
Among the 30 tree species that so far have been genetically modified
are apple, banana, birch, chestnut, elm, peach, pear, pine, plum and
walnut.
In Britain, Shell has been carrying out two trials of eucalyptus in
Kent to improve growth rates and examine herbicide tolerance. Derby
university has modified the paradise apple to examine resistance to
pests and diseases, and Astra Zeneca has had two trials in Bracknell,
Berkshire, with low-lignin poplars - those trees were cut down by GM
protesters in July.