The Advantages of Tree Cloning

Tree cloning, though far less controversial than human cloning, is nonetheless a subject of debate in the worlds of science and agriculture. With deforestation and consumption of trees increasing each year, tree cloning can provide countless economic and environmental benefits around the world. There are, however, considerable risks involved in the cloning of trees.

Background

The deliberate genetic modification of trees has actually been going on for centuries, although it was traditionally achieved through selective breeding and hybridization instead of outright cloning. Many types of fruit trees, such as banana trees, have been cloned for centuries with generally positive consequences. Recently, timber companies have been cloning trees to yield better quality trees at a faster rate. This is usually done through a somatic embryogenesis process in which regular plant tissue is manipulated so that it produces seedlings that are genetically identical.

Economic Benefits

Trees produce paper, lumber, and many other essential products in human society. Tree cloning would speed up the growth of tree crops, allowing us to harvest them faster and provide more resources for people. Cloned plants reproduce faster and more efficiently, so yields are more predictable. Cloning and genetically modified trees can also produce stronger, more durable materials of higher quality.

Environmental Benefits

The environmental benefits of cloning trees are enormous. Trees help reduce atmospheric levels of CO2, the chemical compound that causes global warming. They also provide habitats for countless animal species that live in forests. Trees are, without question, a crucial part of our ecosystem and they are in rapid decline in many parts of the world. Given that consumption levels are not likely to level off anytime soon, tree cloning is a good solution that can help replenish this vital resource.

Cloning of Ancient Trees

Cloning trees also allows us to retain ancient tree specimens that would otherwise be lost at death. A number of rare and valuable ancient trees in the city of Beijing, China are being cloned by scientists for this very purpose. Many of these trees are hundreds of years old, the products of good genes and environmental conditions. Cloning these trees would ensure that future generations could enjoy the same trees, or at least identical copies of the originals.

Risks

There are a number of risks involved in the cloning of trees. A forest of identical trees is highly vulnerable to disease because each tree has the same natural defenses. The trees would all contract the same virus or parasite. The lack of genetic diversity would also result in highly unnatural forests in which many woodland creatures could not survive. In other words, a forest is a complex ecosystem that is difficult to reproduce artificially by means of cloning.

References

• What Are Some Good Things and Bad Things About Plant Cloning?
• Cloning Ancient Trees - Beijing Review
• Commercial Tree Cloning