TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Researchers revealed a new complete photo of the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia on Thursday.

The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute unveiled its full-scale photo of a Taiwania tree numbered “55214” and dubbed it the “Heaven Sword of Daan River,” per CNA. TFRI Deputy Director Wu Meng-ling (吳孟玲) said the tree was found using LiDAR technology, forest distribution data, and collaboration between domestic and international teams. 

Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the TFRI and head of the “Taiwan Champion Trees” expedition team, explained that to capture this life-size photo of the Taiwan cypress giant, her team began in Hsinchu and completed the survey in Taichung. LiDAR technology indicated a height of 79 meters, while on-site measurements showed 84.1 meters, making it the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. 

Hsu said that, following collaborations in 2017 and 2022, her team continued working with Steven Pearce, the leader of Australia's The Tree Project team, who is known for photographing full-scale images of giant trees. Pearce said this mission was difficult and involved crossing rapidly rising and strong-flowing streams.

Pearce, who hails from Tasmania, Australia, has photographed giant trees in locations including Australia, New Zealand, Panama, the Pacific Northwest, and Taiwan. This time, he used a drone-mounted camera to capture images. 

When the camera reached over 80 meters high, Pearce said they almost lost sight of it. Peace said that thanks to the technology, the shoot was completed in just two days, compared to 17 days in the previous attempt.

National Cheng Kung University geomatics professor Wang Chi-kuei (王驥魁) said the Taiwan Champion Trees team was able to conduct precise on-site photography thanks to LiDAR technology. Wang explained that this gathers large-scale three-dimensional spatial data, allowing the measurement of tree height by calculating the difference between the ground and the highest point of the tree. 

There are 941 giant trees in Taiwan taller than 65 meters. However, 46 giant trees have disappeared over the past 10 years. If this trend continues, Wang said the entire population could be gone in 200 years.