Radiocarbon investigation of the big baobab of Outapi, Namibia

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2021. This article is posted here by permission of Studia Chemia for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes: Bolyai Chemia, 66(1), 153-163, http://dx.doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2021.01.12.The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of the Big baobab of Outapi, which is the largest African baobab of Outapi, Namibia. The investigation of this monumental baobab revealed that it consists of 8 fused stems, out of which 4 are false stems. The Big baobab exhibits a closed ring-shaped structure. Three stems build the ring, which is now incomplete due to previous damage to the false cavity. Three wood samples were collected from the false cavity and from the longest false stem. Seven segments were extracted from the samples and dated by radiocarbon. The oldest investigated sample segment had a radiocarbon date of 820 ± 17 BP, corresponding to a calibrated age of 780 ± 10 calendar years. According to dating results, the Big baobab of Outapi is 850 ± 50 years old.The investigation and sampling of the baobab was authorized by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Namibia under the Research/Collecting Permit No. 1934_2014. The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2020-2567, No. 145/2021

Radiocarbon dating of Makuri Le boom, a very old African baobab from Nyae Nyae, Namibia

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Patrut, R. T., Patrut, A., Rakosy, D., Rakosy, L., Lowy, D. A., Von Redenf, K. F., & Bodis, J. Radiocarbon dating of Makuri Le boom, a very old African baobab from Nyae Nyae, Namibia. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Chemia, 65(2), (2020): 149-159, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2020.2.12.The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of Makuri Lê boom, a very large African baobab from Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia. The investigation of this superlative baobab shows that it consists of 12 independent stems of different dimensions, which belong to three generations. Makuri Lê boom has an open ring-shaped structure, a type of architecture which allows baobabs to reach very large sizes and old ages. The oldest sample has a radiocarbon date of 1602 ± 17 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated age of 1520 ± 35 calendar yr. By this value, Makuri Lê boom becomes one of the oldest dated baobabs and angiosperms with accurate dating results.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of National Education CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0776, Nr. 90/2017

Radiocarbon investigation of the Superlative African Baobabs from Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2019. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Seria Chemia is an Open Access Journal (read, download, copy, distribute, print for research use, search, or link to the full texts of articles). The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Seria Chemia , 64(2), Tom II, (2019): 411-419, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2019.2.35.The article reports the radiocarbon investigation results of the superlative African baobabs from Savé Valley, Zimbabwe. Several wood samples collected from these baobab were analysed by AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon dates of the oldest samples were 1529 ± 14 BP for Matendere Big baobab, 1179 ± 19 BP for Chishakwe Big tree and 1096 ± 35 BP for Mokore Giant baobab. The corresponding calibrated ages are 1430 ± 15, 1090 ± 40 and 1020 ± 25 calendar yr. The oldest tree from Savé Valley, which we described previously, is the Humani Bedford Old baobab. The radiocarbon date of its oldest sample, 1655 ± 14 BP, corresponds to a calibrated age of 1580 ± 30 calendar yr.Authors would like to acknowledge Léon and Judy Duplessis, the owners of the Matendere Rach, Lisa-Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch, Roger Whittall, the owner of the Humani Ranch and his wife Anne Whittall, Greg and Melanie Duckworth of Mokore Ranch for granting access in the ranches and for authorising the investigation and sampling of the monumental baobabs. The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of National Education CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0776, Nr. 90/2017

Radiocarbon investigation of a superlative grandidier baobab, the big reniala of Isosa

The article discloses the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating results of the Big Reniala of Isosa, which is a massive Grandidier baobab (Adansonia grandidieri Baill.) of Madagascar. The investigation of this baobab shows that it consists of 5 perfectly fused stems and exhibits a cluster structure. The calculated wood volume of the tree is 540 m 3 , which makes the Big Reniala of Isosa the largest individual of all Adansonia species and also the biggest known angiosperm in terms of volume. Several samples were collected from the outer part of the stems. The oldest dated sample had a radiocarbon date of 934 ± 24 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated age of 845 ± 25 years. This value indicates an age of 1000 ± 100 years for the big Reniala of Isosa

Radiocarbon dating of the historic Livingstone Tree at Chiramba, Mozambique

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2020. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Seria Chemia is an Open Access Journal (read, download, copy, distribute, print for research use, search, or link to the full texts of articles). The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Seria Chemia 65, no. 3 (2020): 149-156, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2020.3.11.The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of the Livingstone Tree, a large African baobab on the right bank of the Zambezi, near Chiramba, Mozambique. In 1858, David Livingstone, who discovered the baobab, carved his monogram on the walls of its inner cavity. In 1996, the historic baobab was uprooted when a cyclone struck the area. Several wood fragments were extracted from the remains of the toppled tree. Five samples which originate from these fragments were subsequently dated by radiocarbon. The oldest sample had a radiocarbon date of 1598 ± 17 BP, that corresponded in 1996 to a calibrated age of 1490 ± 35 calendar years. According to this value, the Livingstone Tree at Chiramba becomes one of the oldest known African baobabs, with an age of over 1500 years. The Livingstone Tree had a closed ring-shaped structure, that consisted of 4 fused stems around a false cavity and also 2 additional stems outside the ring.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of National Education CNCS-UEFISCDI under grants PN-II-ID-PCE-2013-76 and PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0776, Nr. 90/2017

Final radiocarbon investigation of Platland tree, the biggest African baobab

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of Studia Chemia for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Seria Chemia 62, no. 2, Tom 2 (2017): 347-354, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2017.2.27.The article discloses the main results of our new investigation of Platland tree, a.k.a. Sunland baobab, the largest known African baobab. Our recent research was motivated by the three successive splits of 2016 and 2017, which determined the collapse and demise of the stems that have built the main unit of the tree. According to our new findings concerning the architecture of large and old baobabs, we established that Platland tree has a double closed-ring shaped structure and consists of two units/rings that close two separate false cavities. The larger unit was composed of five fused stems, out of which four toppled and died, while the fifth stem is already broken. The smaller unit, which is still standing, consists of three fused stems. We also determined that the larger unit had an age of 800 yr, while the smaller unit is 1100 yr old.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of Scientific Research CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-II-ID-PCE-2013-76

African baobabs with double closed ring-shaped structures and two separate false cavities : radiocarbon investigation of the baobab of Golconda Fort

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of Studia Chemia for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Studia Chemia 2016, no. 4 (2016): 21-30.The article discloses the results of radiocarbon investigation of the baobab of Golconda Fort, Hyderābād, India, which is the largest African baobab outside Africa. Two wood samples were collected from the large inner cavity; of these we extracted several segments for AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. The oldest sample segment had a radiocarbon date of 342 ± 22 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated age of 430 ± 20 yr. We estimate that the oldest part of the baobab has an age of 475 ± 50 yr. The investigation of the baobab of Golconda Fort revealed that it consists of 6 + 2 fused stems. Six stems build two rings that close two distinct false cavities, while two additional stems are located outside the rings. We called this new type of architecture double closed ring-shaped structure with two separate false cavities.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of National Education CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-II-ID-PCE-2013-76

Radiocarbon dating of the old ash of Aiton, Romania

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2018. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Seria Chemia is an Open Access Journal (read, download, copy, distribute, print for research use, search, or link to the full texts of articles). The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Seria Chemia 63, no. 3 (2018): 41-48, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2018.3.03.The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon investigation results of the old common ash of Aiton. Five wood samples were collected from the trunk of the tree. The deepest ends of the samples were analysed by AMS radiocarbon. We found radiocarbon dates between 165 ± 20 BP and 240 ± 18 BP, which correspond to calibrated ages of 230 – 360 years. These results, combined with a ring counting estimate, indicate an age of 330 ± 30 years for the ash of Aiton. By this value, the ash of Aiton becomes the oldest known common ash with accurate dating results.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of Research and Innovation CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0776, Nr. 90/2017

AMS radiocarbon dating of large za baobabs (Adansonia za) of Madagascar

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 11 (2016): e0146977, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146977 .The article reports the radiocarbon investigation of Anzapalivoro, the largest za baobab (Adansonia za) specimen of Madagascar and of another za, namely the Big cistern baobab. Several wood samples collected from the large inner cavity and from the outer part/exterior of the tree were investigated by AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. For samples collected from the cavity walls, the age values increase with the distance into the wood up to a point of maximum age, after which the values decrease toward the outer part. This anomaly of age sequences indicates that the inner cavity of Anzapalivoro is a false cavity, practically an empty space between several fused stems disposed in a ring-shaped structure. The radiocarbon date of the oldest sample was 780 ± 30 bp, which corresponds to a calibrated age of around 735 yr. Dating results indicate that Anzapalivoro has a closed ring-shaped structure, which consists of 5 fused stems that close a false cavity. The oldest part of the biggest za baobab has a calculated age of 900 years. We also disclose results of the investigation of a second za baobab, the Big cistern baobab, which was hollowed out for water storage. This specimen, which consists of 4 fused stems, was found to be around 260 years old

Radiocarbon dating of a very old African baobab from Savé Valley, Zimbabwe

Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of Studia Chemia for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Studia Chemia 2016, no. 4 (2016): 7-20.The article reports the radiocarbon investigation results of the Humani Bedford baobab, an old African baobab from Savé Valley, Zimbabwe. Two wood samples were collected from the large inner cavity. Several segments were extracted from these samples and analysed by AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. We found that the age values of segments increase with the distance into the wood. This major anomaly is characteristic to multi-stemmed baobabs with a closed ring-shaped structure and a false cavity inside. The investigation of the Humani Bedford baobab evinced that the baobab consists of three fused stems. The fourth stem of the ring is missing. The oldest dated segment was found to have a radiocarbon date of 1655 ± 14 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated age of 1575 ± 30 yr. The dating results show that the stems which build the ring stopped growing toward the false cavity more than 600 yr ago. By considering the position of the oldest segment in the investigated stem, we concluded that the Humani Bedford baobab is around 1800 yr old. According to our dating results, the Humani Bedford baobab becomes the oldest living African baobab.The research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of National Education CNCS-UEFISCDI under grant PN-II-ID-PCE-2013-76