The Mystery of Easter Island. Where have all the trees disappeared (8 photos)

Easter Island looks so sad now. In its original form, before people came to the island, it was covered with a dense emerald forest.





Let's take a brief look at the history of this island and its inhabitants and look at the reasons that led to the disaster.

Easter Island is one of the most remote islands where people live. Located in the southeast of the Pacific Ocean, the distance to the nearest continental land - Chile - is more than 3,500 km. It became popular because of the unusual statues that are found all over the island.



The first settlers were not Chileans, as one might think (after all, Chile is the closest continental land), but Polynesians.

At the peak of local civilization, about 15 thousand people lived here. The area is 160 square kilometers, which is approximately the same size as Vyborg or Belgorod.





Reenactor dressed as an Easter Islander

The population density was 94 people per square kilometer. This is relatively little - at the level of the Krasnodar Territory. For comparison, in Moscow the population density exceeds 5 thousand people per square kilometer.



Map of Easter Island. Pay attention to the location of the statues - they are mainly located on the shore

The dense forest on the island consisted of Paschalococos disperta palms. This is the only unique species that grew only on Easter Island. Now these palm trees have completely disappeared.

The settlers began to take over the island and destroy the forest, freeing up the land for crops. The population of settlers grew and, accordingly, more farmland was required. Plus they made canoes from palm trees.



The beginning of the end for local civilization was deforestation.

Local residents thought that the gods would protect them from all sorts of troubles, including environmental disaster. Although at that time there was no such thing. For good luck, people built their famous monuments on the island. ????



The palms Paschalococos disperta are extinct. In the photo - related palm trees in Chile

Forests held the soil together, preventing it from collapsing. Having lost its protection in the form of forest, the soil was eroded, impoverished and degraded. Completely stopped bearing fruit.

During this period, other endemic species of the island also disappeared. Miraculously, only the sedge Scirpus californicus survived, from which local residents built houses.



The soil left behind after cutting down tropical forests is highly fragile. Nutrients are carried away from it by tropical rains. Such soil looks good on the outside, but in reality it is a thin layer of soil. It is only suitable for growing small grass.



But there remains hope that all is not lost for Easter Island. The proof of this is in the photo in front of you. New forest plantations are visible on it.

A similar environmental disaster now threatens Brazil, where tropical forests have been monstrously cut down for pastures.