Frankincense Doomed: Gold, Myrrh Next?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 23:40
in Mathematics & Economics
Frankincense is a milky, fragrant resin used in incense and perfumes across the world and is also a key part of the Christmas story but trees are declining so dramatically that production could be halved over the next 15 years, according to a new study in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology.But global warming isn't the culprit on this one, it is most likely insect attack. Frankincense is obtained by tapping various species of Boswellia, a tree that grows in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Yet despite its economic importance – incense has been traded internationally for thousands of years – little is known about how tapping affects Boswellia populations. read more