Hi there! Ready for today's News Bites?

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Allie Highsmith.

Coming up today: Exploring Taiwan's tall trees at NTU, and microbes that live
in tree bark can help clean the air.

And in today's News Flash: biodiversity.

For a fun challenge, try to count how many times we say the word "tree" in
today's episode.

We've already said it three times!

Keep listening 'till the end, and we'll see if you got them all!
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台大出現台灣最高的樹
Taiwan's Tallest Trees at NTU

Some trees are so big and so old that they make people stop and look up.

Tall trees can live for hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of years.

They quietly watch history pass by.

These trees are also very important for nature.

They give homes to birds, insects, and many other animals.

And their huge trunks (樹幹) and branches (枝葉) help forests stay healthy
and full of life.

In Taiwan, some trees grow as tall as a 25-story building.
有些樹可以長得像一棟25層樓高的大樓。

And now, a new exhibition (展覽) in Taipei is helping people see just how
amazing these giant trees really are.

The exhibition is called "1 Tree 1 World" (樹說島語?森命相連
生物多樣性守護計畫).

It opened at the library of National Taiwan University and runs until the end
of March.

The main attraction (最吸引人的) is a huge photo of the tallest known tree in
Taiwan.

This tree is called the "Heaven Sword of Daan River" (大安溪倚天劍).

It is a kind of Taiwania tree (台灣杉), and it is about 84 meters tall.

Researchers started looking for giant trees like this in 2017.

Their project is called the Giant Tree Mapping Project (巨木地圖計畫).

At the exhibition, visitors can see full photos of several famous trees.

These include the "Three Chilan Sisters" (棲蘭三姊妹) and the "Tao Tree"
(桃山神木).

Some photos even show researchers climbing high in the trees.

Visitors can try to spot them (找找看他們在哪裡) in the pictures.

The exhibition also shows the animals and plants that live in forests across
Taiwan.

Special infrared cameras even captured wildlife returning to old tea farms
and orchards that people no longer use.
紅外線相機甚至拍到野生動物回到一些已經沒有人使用的茶園和果園。

Organizers hope the exhibition helps people learn more about protecting
forests and biodiversity (生物多樣性).

They also hope Taiwan's giant trees can one day be recognized by UNESCO as a
world heritage (世界遺產).
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樹上的微生物幫忙淨化空氣
Microbes on Trees Help Clean the Air

Alright, so we know trees are some of the most important living things on
Earth.

They give us oxygen (氧氣), provide homes for animals, and help keep the
planet cool.

Trees also help the planet by taking in carbon dioxide (二氧化碳).

But scientists recently discovered another secret.

Tiny microbes (微小生物) living in tree bark (樹皮) are helping the planet as
well.

Microbes are very small living things.

They are too tiny to see without a microscope (顯微鏡).

Scientists found that these microbes "eat" gases in the air.

Some of these gases make the Earth warmer.

One important gas is methane (甲烷).

Over time, methane can warm the planet much more than carbon dioxide.

Microbes living in tree bark can also eat hydrogen (氫氣) and carbon monoxide
(一氧化碳).

This group of microbes is called the bark microbiome (樹皮微生物群).

And there are a lot of them.

Scientists estimate that about six trillion microbes live in every square
meter of tree bark.
科學家估計，每一平方公尺的樹皮上，大約有六兆個微生物。

Trees around the world have a huge amount of bark.

Altogether, the bark on Earth's trees covers an area almost as big as North
and South America combined.
如果把所有樹皮加起來，面積幾乎和北美洲加南美洲一樣大。

Scientists first noticed something strange when studying methane in forests.

They expected more methane to rise from wet forests like the Amazon.

But the numbers were lower than expected.

Later, scientists discovered that microbes on tree bark were eating some of
that methane.

Researchers say these tiny helpers remove millions of tons of methane every
year.

This discovery could also help scientists choose better trees when rebuilding
forests.

The idea is simple: plant trees that host microbes that remove more climate
gases.
種植那些能夠讓微生物吸收更多氣體的樹。

In other words, trees are not working alone.

Their tiny partners are helping protect the planet too.
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So, in today's News Bites:

A new exhibition called "1 Tree 1 World" is now open at the library of
National Taiwan University until the end of March.

It features a full-size photo of Taiwan's tallest known tree, the "Heaven
Sword of Daan River," which is about 84 meters tall.

The exhibition hopes to raise awareness about forests, wildlife, and
protecting Taiwan's giant trees.
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And in our second story,

Scientists discovered that tiny microbes living on tree bark help remove
gases that warm the planet.

These microbes can eat methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide from the air.

The discovery shows that trees and their microscopic partners play an even
bigger role in protecting Earth's climate.
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In today's News Flash, our word of the day is "biodiversity" (生物多樣性)!

The word "biodiversity" is a noun.

Biodiversity means the variety of living things in one place.

This includes animals, plants, insects, and even tiny living things like
microbes.

A place with high biodiversity has many different kinds of life.

For example, a forest with many birds, insects, trees, and flowers has rich
biodiversity.

Biodiversity is important because living things depend on each other.

When biodiversity is strong, ecosystems are healthier and more balanced.

Protecting forests, oceans, and wetlands helps protect biodiversity.

So…did you catch how many times we said 'tree' in today's episode?

Including these, the word 'tree' appeared 32 times!

If you caught them all, nice work!
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If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you
might hear it in an upcoming episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!