Biodiversity to suffer as shimul trees get scarcer

Death of bombax ceida, locally known as shimul trees, is now a common phenomenon in different areas of northern districts. The photo was taken from Pakerhat in Khansama upazila under Dinajpur district. PHOTO: STAR

Shimul trees once seen in large numbers across the district as well as the whole country are disappearing fast due the recent trend of its high mortality and people's lack of interest in its plantation.
The botanical name of the high quality cotton producing tree is bombax ceiba and it plays a significant role in biodiversity.
Its large bright flowers are a great attraction for birds as well as honey bees and other insects. The giant trees often grow 80 to 100 feet high.
The shimul trees now found in Dinajpur district were planted 40 to 50 years ago, forest officials said.
The trees are now reportedly dying in different northern districts including Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Naogaon but the reason remains virtually undetected in absence of any research on the matter.
Visiting different places in Dinajpur during the ongoing blooming season of the shimul trees, this correspondent found a few dead trees standing like huge skeletons.
"The cause of such death so far remains unexplained. It can be attributed to various factors, pollution being the primary one. In forest conditions this tree can live for 150 years. But in urban areas, it often dies faster," said Ali Kabir, divisional forest officer of Dinajpur.
"Once shimul trees were seen in abundance in Dinajpur and other districts. They served as sweet abode for different birds. But now the trees have become scarce," said Shafiqul Islam, an elderly residence of Gabura village under Dinajpur Sadar upazila.
The soft wood of shimul tree is suitable for producing matches. Its flower buds are also used as vegetables in some rural areas.
But people are now hardly interested to plant the big trees as commercial cotton farming is spreading across the country.
Forest researchers have stressed the need for conservation and plantation of shimul trees to save the rich biodiversity of the country.