Book review: Oak trees warn us about the limits of adaptation to climate change

In many parts of the world, if you take a walk through the woods, you’re likely to come across an oak tree. With 425 species living around the world and their abundance, you might think that these trees are somewhat obscure and that we take them for granted. But Andrew L. Hipp, a botanist and principal investigator at the Morton Arboretum in Illinois, makes it clear that oaks are a dynamic and essential part of the forest.

Oaks have been attracting the attention of naturalists for some time. in About the origin of speciesCharles Darwin highlighted the European oak as an example of species variation. But the advent of DNA technology offers a sharp new perspective on what Hipp calls the orcs’ “superpower”: their ability to breed with other orc species while retaining some of their original genetics. It was done.

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After oaks first appeared 56 million years ago, natural selection adapted them to diverse environments and expanded their range. They began to diverge into different species at least 45 million years ago. However, California scrub white oak can breed with Engelmann oak. Hipp contrasts this trick with humans’ inability to procreate with chimpanzees, even though their evolutionary split was much more recent.

Oaks’ ability to hybridize without merging brings out fascinating nuances in the so-called Tree of Life. This visual metaphor divides the seeds into different branches. But if you look closely at a section of oak, “you’ll see signature bundles trailing through the branches, and you’ll see genes moving between lineages,” Hipp says.

He gently guides the reader through these complexities and lays the foundation for a clear explanation of tree evolution and biology. In one analogy, he compares the incredible potential of Orks’ genetic modification to the extensive post-production tape splicing that produced Miles Davis’ song “Dance of the Pharaohs.”

Oaks have genetic flexibility that allows them to solve ecological problems. But the current rise in global temperatures is far exceeding the fastest rise in history, creating problems that even these “protean” adapters cannot solve without human intervention. Hipp’s research shows that by conserving oak species, we can preserve valuable nodes in our genetic web.