Madrid rushes to clone precious oaks downed by snowstorm
Reuters
2/18/2021
By Silvio Castellanos and Michael Gore
MADRID, Feb 18 (Reuters) - After the worst snowstorm in decades damaged half a million of Madrid's trees, a specialist arboreal rescue team is swooping in to clone some of the most valuable specimens, creating genetically identical copies for future generations to enjoy.
Storm Filomena crashed through central Spain in early January, cutting off transport links to the capital and causing hundreds of millions of euros of damage.
"It's the biggest environmental catastrophe of recent years," said Francisco Molina, head of agroforestry at Madrid's IMIDRA rural development institute. "There's been an unprecedented loss of natural heritage."