You Can't Kill a Redwood . . .
Dateline: 1/5/00
Or can you? Probably the only reason that redwood trees are not near
extinction today is that they have amazing regenerative powers. After
being cut down or badly burned, they are able to sprout from the base of the
tree or stump. A more important question might be, can you kill a redwood
forest? The answer to this question depends on what is meant by a redwood
forest. After logging a redwood forest, it does come back gradually, but
will it ever be what it once was? To be more specific, can an old growth
redwood forest be killed? The clear answer seems to be yes, and biologists
are just beginning to understand the complexity of an old growth redwood forest.
Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens
Taxodiaceae
© Gerald
Carr. Used by permission. |
A Redwood Profile
To properly appreciate redwoods, you need to look for one of the tallest redwoods
you can find, or better, a whole grove of tall redwoods, and stand on the forest
floor and look up. Redwoods represent the tallest trees in the world with
the very tallest specimens averaging over 110 feet (33 meters).
Ironically, this giant of a tree has one of the smallest cones among the
conifers. Known by botanists as Sequoia sempervirens, it is the
only modern representative of its genus. The fossil record suggests that
it had a much wider range than it does today (see picture of fossils, below), where it is confined to the
coastal areas and adjacent mountains of Northern California and extreme Southern
Oregon. It is especially abundant where fog is frequent, because redwoods
meet a significant portion of their water requirements from fog drip.
Until about 150 years ago, ancient groves of redwoods were liberally
scattered along the California coast. They had remained relatively
untouched for many hundreds to thousands of years with only occasional bouts
with fire. Today only 4 percent of these groves remain untouched by
logging. The reason for this phenomenal decline in old growth redwood
forests is related to the high quality of wood they produce. Redwood
lumber is strong and highly insect and rot-resistant, in addition to being
aesthetically pleasing to look at. Such a high quality product cannot be
easily ignored, so extensive logging has been the result. Fortunately, as
mentioned above, redwoods rejuvenate themselves readily, but they do not
immediately return the old growth habitat that was lost. In fact, some
biologists are concerned that the unique characteristics of old growth may never
return to some areas.
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Value of Old Growth
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