Lai Chun-piao (
The discovery of the trees, some of which are more than 1,000 years old, came after Lai and his team explored the northern part of Hsuehshan (雪山, Snow Mountain).
Conservationists say the forest's uniqueness makes it eligible for being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
PHOTO: LAI CHUN-PIAO
Among seven kinds of cypress in the world -- all fall under the genus Chamaecyparis -- Taiwan red cypress and Taiwan cypress are indigenous to the island. Others are distributed throughout North America and Japan.
According to Lai, numerous mature Taiwan cypress,dense in an area of more than 1,000 hectares, could be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old. Lai bases his estimate on tree trunks that range in diameter from 1.5m to 3m.
"A divine `temple' of Taiwan cypress deep in the forest, which has been described by the Atayal people for many generations, does in fact exist," Lai said.
PHOTO: KE CHIN-YUAN, PTS
Lai added that a comprehensive study being conducted by ecologists may further prove the value of such rare natural forests.
The stunning discovery can be attributed to a two-year on-site investigation carried out by Lai, 49, an ecological photographer who has spent 18 years in mountainous areas gathering details of the history of Taiwan cypress and Taiwan red cypress.
In the 1910s, when Taiwan was a Japanese colony, cypress became a precious commodity for Japan to meet increasing demand.
PHOTO: LAI CHUN-PIAO
Under KMT rule, a wholesale logging of Taiwan cypress was carried out in the 1950s. Harvesting of the cypress trees continued until 1989 when a moratorium took effect.
Seeing many mountainous areas over-exploited, conservationists launched a forest-protection movement in Taiwan in 1988. The calls came as Western environmentalism was gradually influencing a society just freed from decades of martial law.
In late 1990s, conservationists and Aboriginal people demanded the establishment of a national park around Chilan Mountain (
PHOTO: LAI CHUN-PIAO
In looking at the history of Taiwan's forests, conservationists realized that documents and pictures were lacking.
By reviewing old documents and photos recorded by the Japanese, Lai came to believe that giant Taiwan cypress trees were not just the stuff of Atayal legend, but still existed in some unexplored part of the nation.
One of focuses of the Taiwan Forest Culture and History Work-shop (
Late last month and into this month, Lai and a news team from PTS headed for the forests of Hsuehshan to look for the Taiwan cypress described as a "temple" by Atayal Aborigines.
Each day, explorers climbed the rugged mountains, entering areas that would take outsiders eight hours to reach.
According to Ke Chin-yuan (
In an area upstream of the Lanyang River (
"Never had I thought that the `temple' would be discovered during our adventure," Ke said.
Ke said the discovery of this "temple" of Taiwan hinoki false-cypress shows that the island is actually a place of treasures given to us by Heaven.
During their journey, the team discovered at least five giant cypress sites. The total area of the cypress forest is unknown.
Kuo Chen-meng (郭城孟), a botanist at National Taiwan University, said that ecosystems preserved in the newly discovered forest deserve more study because the area contains important information regarding climate and biology during ice ages and inter-glacial ages.
Scientific research suggests that the cypress originated during Triassic Period of the Miocene Epoch about 200 million years ago. As global temperatures dropped, the polar ice sheets gradually expanded and life forms adapted by migrating southward. The belt stretching from the Himalayas to Taiwan was then the largest sanctuary for various life forms.
"In the rare forest of Taiwan cypress, we can also see many rare types of ferns, which are delivering precious messages of scientific value," Kuo said.
In addition, many tress described as "living fossils," such as Taiwania (
Lai said that the last thing he wants to see is illegal logging carried out by "mountain rats," or people who pursue profits without thinking of what kind of environment they will be leaving future generations.
"The protection of the forest in Chilan can be only carried out by locals with respect for nature," Lai said.
Lai added that Japan adopted strict protection rules after making an examination of past logging practices.
Lin Leh-chyun (
"However, Taiwan has to protect this gift from being hurt this time," Lin said.
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