What About the Trees?
- stephenstrent7
- Jun 6
- 5 min read
This discussion is taken from chapter 13 of my forthcoming book, Noah’s Flood and the Philosophies of Men.
Conservative Christians, including many members of The Church of Jesus Crist of Latter-day Saints, believe that literally everyone on earth was killed at the time of the flood except Noah and his family. They believe that the human gene pool collapsed back down to just eight people: Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. Furthermore, all of the animal gene pool collapsed down to the few animals – two or seven of each species – that could fit into the ark: only birds, large quadrupeds, and reptiles. The rest of the animals (95-99%) were left to fend for themselves, and most would have died. No mention is made of how the plants dealt with the deluge. According to Archbishop James Ussher’s chronology, the flood occurred 1656 years after the Creation, placing it at 2348 BC.1 Therefore, we are dealing with human and other animal gene pools that are only 4373 years old. And who knows what happened to the gene pools of plants, not to mention all the fishes, worms, insects, and arachnids?
The flood narrative presents immediate problems for plants all over the earth and in the water. First, if the Great Flood covered the entire earth, it would have salinated all the rivers and lakes, and all the fresh water on earth would have become too salty for fresh-water plants to survive. At the same time, because of the rain, sea water would have become desalinated, brackish water, and salt-water species would have died off. With all the fresh water and sea water gone, how would the plants survive? This is by no means a trivial issue. Most water plants have a very narrow tolerance for water chemistry. With water covering the entire earth, most plant life would have drowned along with the animals. Plants are living things too and they can drown.
Hakim Manghwar, et al. stated, “When plants are subjected to waterlogging, the oxygen supply in their roots is diminished, leading to hypoxic or anoxic conditions…Most of the terrestrial plants…are vulnerable to partial to total submersion of their aboveground organs. When plants are subjected to waterlogging, their aerial organs are affected, causing a significant decrease in gas diffusion rates, and ultimately hindering respiration and photosynthesis. Moreover, the muddy floodwaters block light access, thereby inhibiting the ability of plants to carry out photosynthesis…In a waterlogged environment, roots may not be able to grow properly due to the lack of oxygen, which can lead to root death…Waterlogging-sensitive plants experience a decrease in their photosynthetic machinery, which leads to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This can result in the degradation of cellular structures and severe oxidative damage, which in turn interferes with normal metabolism.”2
Genesis 8:3-14 tells the story of the raven and the dove. The waters abated “after the end of the hundred and fifty days”. The ark rested on the “mountains of Ararat”. Around two-and-one-half months later, the “tops of the mountains” could be seen. A raven was sent out forty days after that. Then, at some unspecified time later, a dove was sent out, and on the second trip, came back with an olive leaf. This all makes for a good story, having a lot in common with the Gilgamesh Epic, but the whole story sounds a bit fishy. First, if the ark landed on the “mountains of Ararat”, and only later could the “tops of the mountains” be seen, that’s a problem. Mount Ararat is 16,854 feet elevation. There is not a tree line there because the entire mountain is too dry and barren to have trees anywhere. The top of the mountain is covered with snow year-round, so, Noah and his family would have to put on their winter coats, especially while waiting the two-and-one-half months for the tops of the other mountains to show. Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Israel, is 9,232 feet high, and its tree line is about 6,233 feet. No olive trees grow above around 4,265 feet.3
Under conditions of a year-long global submersion, or more, little vegetation, if any, would have survived. The story of the dove returning with an olive leaf suggests that an olive tree survived, with leaves, until the water drained away at some elevation below 4,265 feet. Such a scenario seems highly unlikely.
Charles Munroe proposed an experiment: “Purchase a small five foot olive tree from a local nursery, place it in a burlap sack with two bricks on the bottom for weight, secure the top of the sack around the truck of the olive tree and attached a cord to facilitate lowering and 2 raising the tree. Completely submerge the tree in a swimming pool, or suitable body of water, and leave there for not five months but three. The first month nothing will appear to be happening. The second month leaves will began to appear on the bottom of the pool. At the end of the third month the tree will be leafless. Raise the tree from the pool and plant it in potting soil and care for it. After a month a gentle flexing of the outer branches will cause them to snap off. At the end of another month the truck will snap off. The tree is not only leafless but dead.” He provided a before and after photo, so, apparently performed the “experiment, but had only conducted it once.4
Munroe proposed an Experiment Two – “What would the herbivores eat once they left the Ark? Obtain a small aquarium, or other suitable deep container, a plastic planter pan and several square feet of grass sod. Place grass sod in both the aquarium and the planter tray and cover the aquarium with window screen to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Water both for a month to insure that the grass is growing and healthy. At the end of the month add water to the aquarium 4 and completely submerge the grass under six or more inches of water. In one month’s time syphon off the water in the aquarium. The best way is to take plastic or rubber tubing and hold in a U shape and fill with water. Pinch the ends of the tubing and place one end under water in the aquarium and the other lower down to a drain or receptacle. What is left of the grass sod is yellow stinking inedible goo.” Again, photos were provided, apparently with only one iteration. He also, apparently, did not attempt to restore the grass, to determine if there was still any “life” present.5
Although Munroe’s “experiments” were not conducted in a carefully-controlled scientific manner and only had a sample-size of one, they still point out the problem of having vegetation under water for three months, let alone an entire year or more.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. James Barr, “Why the World Was Created in 4004 BC: Archbishop Ussher and Biblical Chronology,” Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 67:575-608, 1984
2. Manghwar, Hakim, et al., Waterlogging stress in plants: Unraveling the mechanisms and impacts on growth, development, and productivity, Environmental and Experimental Botany, 224:105824, 2024
4. Munroe, Charles C. III, The Flood of Noah, FCPE March 24, 2018 pp 1-19; California State University, Northridge; csun.edu/~vcgeo005/Nr39TheFlood.pdf
5. Ibid
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