DNA tests are expected to show that the giant trees on Lalashan (拉拉山) might not be as old as originally thought.
Lalashan’s “giant tree area,” which is overseen by the Forestry Bureau’s Hsinchu Forest District Office, is to be transformed into a National Forest Recreation Area by the end of the year.
The giant trees, mostly Taiwan cypress and Taiwan red cypress, grow at an altitude of 1,500m to 2,130m.
The Taiwan red cypress is prone to infection by a canker-causing fungi, office Deputy Director Liu Chung-hsien (劉忠憲) said, adding that infected trees fall once the pitted trunks can no longer hold up