Only in falling did Pinheirão finally yield what scientists needed
Em Caçador, Santa Catarina, a queda de um dos maiores pinheiros-do-paraná do Brasil abriu, paradoxalmente, uma janela de salvação: pesquisadores da Embrapa Florestas correram para colher material genético da copa do Pinheirão antes que a vida ali contida se apagasse. O que a árvore jamais permitiu em vida — o acesso ao seu ápice — ela ofereceu na queda. Num tempo em que chuvas extremas alimentadas pelo El Niño derrubam gigantes centenários ao saturar os solos argilosos do Sul, clonar o excepcional é também um ato de resistência ecológica.
- A janela para salvar o material genético do Pinheirão era de apenas cinco a dez dias após a queda — e o relógio já estava correndo quando os pesquisadores chegaram.
- O paradoxo perturbador: só porque a árvore caiu foi possível alcançar a copa onde viviam os brotos viáveis, inacessíveis durante décadas de vida.
- O processo de enxertia em laboratório levará cerca de cem dias para confirmar se a clonagem foi bem-sucedida, com precedente positivo em Cruz Machado, no Paraná.
- A queda não é um acidente isolado — pesquisas apontam que chuvas extremas do El Niño estão saturando solos argilosos e derrubando árvores monumentais em série no Sul do Brasil.
- Preservar os genes do Pinheirão tornou-se urgência coletiva: sua altura e longevidade excepcionais são traços raros que a floresta Ombrófila Mista não pode perder.
Um gigante caiu em Caçador, e com ele veio uma corrida contra o tempo. O Pinheirão — quarto maior exemplar de Araucaria angustifolia do Brasil, com 44 metros de altura e 2,45 metros de diâmetro — tombou nas últimas semanas na Estação Experimental da Embrapa. Quando a gestão da Epagri descobriu a perda, acionou imediatamente os especialistas em clonagem.
O pesquisador Ivar Wendling e sua equipe sabiam que brotos viáveis sobrevivem apenas cinco a dez dias após a queda. Encontraram material vivo ainda presente na copa — algo que jamais teria sido possível colher com a árvore de pé. Como explicou o pesquisador Paulo César, o material genético necessário habitava o topo do dossel, inacessível na prática. Só na queda o Pinheirão entregou o que a ciência precisava. O material seguiu para laboratório: em cerca de cem dias, a enxertia dirá se a clonagem foi bem-sucedida. Já houve precedente positivo após a queda de outro araucária em Cruz Machado, no Paraná.
Determinar a idade real do Pinheirão também era um mistério. O tronco oco impedia a dendrocronologia enquanto a árvore vivia. Agora, o técnico Arnaldo Soares poderá extrair seções transversais de uma parte intacta do tronco e contar os anéis diretamente — obtendo ao menos uma idade mínima, um vislumbre do tempo que essa árvore atravessou.
Desde 2003, o Pinheirão era referência científica e simbólica, recebendo delegações da FAO, da Universidade Politécnica de Madri e da Rede Internacional de Florestas Modelo do Canadá. Em novembro de 2025, meses antes de cair, foi documentado para o projeto Reinvenção da Natureza, do SESC, que percorre doze árvores monumentais do Sul do Brasil e prepara uma exposição multimídia prevista para abrir na primavera.
Mas a queda carrega um alerta mais sombrio. Pesquisas do professor Marcelo Scipioni, da UFSC, indicam que chuvas extremas provocadas pelo El Niño estão saturando os solos argilosos do Sul até que percam a capacidade de ancorar raízes. O peso de copas centenárias torna-se então insustentável. Preservar o legado genético do Pinheirão deixou de ser apenas homenagem a um indivíduo extraordinário — é uma resposta urgente à fragilidade crescente de uma floresta sob assédio.
A giant araucaria tree fell in Caçador, and with it came an unexpected opportunity. Researchers from Embrapa Florestas moved quickly to collect genetic material from the crown of what had been Brazil's fourth-largest specimen of Araucaria angustifolia—a tree known affectionately as Pinheirão, or Big Pine. Standing 44 meters tall with a trunk diameter of 2.45 meters at chest height, the tree had dominated the landscape of the Embrapa Experimental Station for decades. No one knows exactly when it fell, only that it happened within recent weeks, and when the Epagri management discovered the loss, they called in the cloning specialists.
The window for genetic rescue is narrow. Viable shoots must be collected within five to ten days of a tree's fall, and Ivar Wendling, the lead researcher, knew the clock was ticking. His team found living growth still present in the fallen crown—material that would have been impossible to reach while the tree stood. Paulo César, a fellow researcher, explained the paradox: the genetic material they needed lived at the very top of the canopy, unreachable by any practical means except through climbing, which was never feasible on a living tree of such height. Only in falling did Pinheirão finally yield what scientists needed to preserve it. The collected material went to the laboratory for grafting, a process that will take roughly one hundred days to confirm whether the cloning has succeeded.
This is not the first time Embrapa has attempted such a rescue. After another large araucaria fell in Cruz Machado, Paraná, researchers used similar techniques to preserve its genetic legacy. The goal is specific: to capture and maintain the rare characteristics that made Pinheirão exceptional—its extraordinary height and longevity. These traits are not common, and they matter for understanding what these ancient trees are capable of becoming.
Determining Pinheirão's actual age had always been difficult. The tree's hollow trunk made dendrochronology—the standard method of counting growth rings—impossible to perform while it stood. Researchers had never dared to drill into the living wood, fearing damage to a structure already fragile. Now, with the tree down, technician Arnaldo Soares will direct the collection of cross-sections from an intact portion of the trunk about five meters up. Counting the rings directly will give only a minimum age, since the earliest years of growth lie below that height. But it will be something—a glimpse into how long this tree actually lived.
Since 2003, Pinheirão had served as a focal point for research and international attention. The tree inspired work at Embrapa's monitoring laboratory and drew delegations from institutions like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and Canada's International Model Forest Network. In November 2025, just months before it fell, photographer Zé Paiva and cinematographer Gustavo Fonseca documented the tree for a SESC project called Reinvenção da Natureza—Nature Reinvented. That project visited twelve monumental trees across southern Brazil and is preparing a multimedia exhibition on the Mixed Ombrophilous Forest, set to open this spring at SESC Concórdia and later at SESC Itajaí.
But the fall of Pinheirão carries a darker signal. Recent research by professor Marcelo Scipioni of the Federal University of Santa Catarina points to a troubling pattern: extreme rainfall in southern Brazil, driven by El Niño, is the primary cause of these ancient trees toppling. The mechanism is straightforward and devastating. Heavy rains saturate the clay-rich soil until it loses structural integrity. The ground can no longer anchor the roots. The weight of the canopy, spread wide across a tree that may be centuries old, becomes impossible to support. These monumental trees, survivors of centuries, are becoming vulnerable to forces they cannot withstand. Preserving Pinheirão's genetic material is no longer just about saving a remarkable individual—it is about maintaining the diversity of a forest under siege.
Notable Quotes
The genetic material lived at the very top of the canopy, unreachable by any practical means except through climbing, which was never feasible on a living tree of such height.— Paulo César, researcher
Extreme rainfall in southern Brazil, driven by El Niño, is the primary cause of these ancient trees toppling as saturated soil loses structural integrity.— Marcelo Scipioni, Federal University of Santa Catarina
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that they collected the genetic material from the crown rather than the trunk?
The crown is where the tree's most vigorous growth happens—the material that's still alive and capable of being propagated. The trunk, especially in an old tree like this, is often compromised. You need living tissue to clone.
And they couldn't have gotten that material while the tree was standing?
Not practically. The crown was 44 meters up. You'd need specialized climbing equipment and would risk damaging a tree that was already structurally fragile. The fall, as tragic as it is, actually made the rescue possible.
How do they know the cloning will work?
They don't yet. That's why they're watching the grafted material for the next hundred days. But they've done this before—after another araucaria fell in Paraná. That gives them confidence in the technique, even if each tree is different.
What's the real concern here—is it just about saving this one tree?
No. The tree's fall itself is the warning. Extreme rainfall from El Niño is saturating the soil and destabilizing these ancient trees. If this is happening to Pinheirão, it's happening to others. Preserving the genetics is about maintaining the forest's diversity while the climate is changing.
So they're racing against time in two ways.
Exactly. They had to collect the material before it died. And they need to understand what's making these trees fall so they can protect what's left.