2020年9月11日版 Fireproof Trees

Fireproof Trees 第2674期
As we all know, trees can easily catch fire. But do you know that some trees are fireproof?
There was once a piece of land in Spain. It was being used to study a deadly(致命的) tree disease. But in 2012, it burned to the ground because of a wildfire(野火). After the fire, a group of cypresses(柏树) were still tall and green. It was a big surprise.
A team of scientists spent three years trying to find the reasons why this kind of tree was fireproof. They did tests on dead samples(样本) of the tree branches. They also took live(活的) twigs(小树枝) with leaves from different heights of the tree and used them in tests. The tests showed one of the key features of the tree: its high water content(含量). The scientists learned that the tree’s pine needles(松针) wouldn’t dry out when they fell from the tree. Instead, they trapped water like sponges(海绵).
Right now, scientists are doing more tests to see if this kind of tree would be able to prevent the spread of wildfires.