02_Sussman_Spruce_Sweden_1068px© Rachel Sussman


798px Pinus_aristata_Krummholtz2Andrew Petro/FlickrAn example of a tree in a "krummholz" formation.


Tjikko has stayed alive for so long because of a process called "vegetative cloning." When the trunk of Old Tjikko dies, the root system stays alive and sprouts a new trunk. Most trunks of the tree live for hundreds of years.


Sussman calls the tree "a portrait of climate change" because of how it has changed in recent years. For thousands of years, the tree appeared in a stunted shrub formation called a "krummholz" formation, due to the harsh environment. In a krummholz formation, the tree appears twisted, stunted, and deformed, to protect itself from strong, freezing winds.
