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Article: Cork protects wildlife.(News from the world of Trees)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- American Forests
- Article date:
- September 22, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 American Forests. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cork is not only useful when popping the bubbly, it also saves wildlife. The bark of cork oak trees regenerates, allowing the trees to be safely stripped in nine-year intervals to create natural wine corks. Because the trees are valued for this service and not logged, an ancient woodland ecosystem based on native flora has developed within the woodlands in Portugal.
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These "Montados," as the woodlands are called, feed grazing livestock and also nurture rare wildlife, reports Britain's Royal Society of Protection of Birds. By 2000, one oak thought to be 212 years old and named the "Whistler Tree" swarmed with singing birds. It alone ...