On our last day in Yosemite National Park we walked through the Redwood forest in Mariposa Grove. The trees here are called Giant Sequoias, the Coastal Redwood trees also in California are taller than the Giant Sequoias but the Giant Sequoias trunks have a much larger circumference than the Coastal Redwoods. Coastal Redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world, they grow to 115 metres tall and Giant Sequoias are the widest trees in the world with a circumference of over 30 meters.
This is a comparison of a human compared to a Coastal Redwood and a Giant Sequoia, the measurement is in feet. (Karri trees grow to about 81 meters tall and can get up to 16 meters in circumference.) Giant Sequoias now only inhabit a narrow belt along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. They were once found across much of the northern hemisphere. They need a climate of 1800 metres in elevation, heavy snows, sunny days, mildly cold nights, frequent fires and enough moisture for them to flourish.
This is The Grizzily Giant, one of the biggest and oldest trees in the world. He is over 1800 years old and has survived over 50 bushfires. When pioneers started putting out naturally occuring fires in the area they noticed declining growth of the sequoias. The trees need fire to open their cones, disperse their seeds and keep other plants growth under control. The cones are suprisingly small for such a giant tree. The fire doen't hurt the sequoias because of their bark, it is over a foot thick and is really dense, it is also rich in tanins which helps prevent insect infestation.
This is a comparison of a human compared to a Coastal Redwood and a Giant Sequoia, the measurement is in feet. (Karri trees grow to about 81 meters tall and can get up to 16 meters in circumference.) Giant Sequoias now only inhabit a narrow belt along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. They were once found across much of the northern hemisphere. They need a climate of 1800 metres in elevation, heavy snows, sunny days, mildly cold nights, frequent fires and enough moisture for them to flourish. This is The Grizzily Giant, one of the biggest and oldest trees in the world. He is over 1800 years old and has survived over 50 bushfires. When pioneers started putting out naturally occuring fires in the area they noticed declining growth of the sequoias. The trees need fire to open their cones, disperse their seeds and keep other plants growth under control. The cones are suprisingly small for such a giant tree. The fire doen't hurt the sequoias because of their bark, it is over a foot thick and is really dense, it is also rich in tanins which helps prevent insect infestation.Visiting the Giant Sequoias was an amazing experience, the trees live as a community by sharing nutrition through their bonding root systems. Moss grows thick on some of the trees, it does not hurt them as it gathers nutrition from the air. Mariposa Grove is going to be closed in May for 2 years to help preserve the trees and improve their health. Giant Sequoias have such shallow root systems that are effected by the pressure of people walking around them every day, it is actually killing them. Park rangers are hoping that by closing the park to visitors for a long period of time it will enable the Giant Sequois to live longer and increase their numbers. I really hope it works. Drew
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