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2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

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Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#51

Post by sradman »

The coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) [1]:

> In response to forest fires, the trees have developed various adaptations. The thick, fibrous bark of coast redwoods is extremely fire-resistant; it grows to at least a foot thick and protects mature trees from fire damage. In addition, the redwoods contain little flammable pitch or resin. If damaged by fire, a redwood readily sprouts new branches or even an entirely new crown, and if the parent tree is killed, new buds sprout from its base. Fires, moreover, appear to actually benefit redwoods by causing substantial mortality in competing species while having only minor effects on redwood. Burned areas are favorable to the successful germination of redwood seeds.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#52

Post by dnautics »

mehrdadn wrote: post #43
thaumasiotes wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire.

>> The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree > The bare fact that a tree is 1400 years old is pretty strong evidence that it's unlikely to be harmed by a fire. For fires the likes of which they've experienced in their lifetimes, perhaps. Hard to know otherwise: "What is remarkable about the CZU fire is this is a coastal fire, primarily along the the coast near the Santa Cruz mountains... in forests, a lot of redwoods, that ha…

Have you ever been to a redwood Grove? Even on the coasts, All of the oldest trees have burnt out cores and are doing fine.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#53

Post by mytailorisrich »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #4

“Withstand” is a funny word. Forests need fire. Fire is destructive to the organs (flora and fauna) but beneficial to the organism (a forest). I’m thinking of all of the sequoia seeds, now germinated from the fire[1], that will sprout next year into full sunlight that hasn’t touched the forest floor in hundreds of years. It is sad though that it’s also destructive to the lives of so many people. May everyone find saf…

I don't know about sequoias but some species' seeds need to "feel the heat" before they can germinate. For example acacias in Australia, if you just sow the seeds the germination rate is very poor. The trick is to put the seeds under boiling water before sowing them...

I know that for some species of cycads people actually burn hay in the crown to induce fruition.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#55

Post by waihtis »

Offtopic: anybody else find it hilarious how this completely serious news piece is followed by a section of spam-grade garbage "advertisements?" [1]

How the hell does a news organization decide this is a worthy way of pumping up revenues?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboola#Reception

ps. not on my usual computer, yes I know of adblocking :-)

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#56

Post by pvaldes »

samcheng wrote: post #25
zorpner wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The global temperature anomaly is already out-of-range for not only the lifetime of this tree, but much of its evolutionary history. We are entering an out-of-context situation for a large portion of the earth's extant lifeforms.

Agreed. Also, these trees must now survive a hundred years of aggressive fire suppression, which (ironically) allows fuel to build up to dangerous levels. Either way, these trees are a lot safer after surviving a fire.

Again, the forest does not burn each summer. Is the job of arsonists in the majority of the times. This is a criminal problem. Is domestic terrorism

Claiming that fuel is increasing and somebody should burn the forest attract lunatics and does not help to have a future with water, or to decrease the levels of CO2 in the air.

We desperately require the CO2 stored in plants and in soil and this is not compatible with the old "time to burn" parties and traditions. Brazil and half of Africa is burning today and this is not acceptable. We must change our speech. Now.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#57

Post by quixoticelixer- »

keeganpoppen wrote: post #45
DoreenMichele wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. I know there is a pine that does that, but I'm in rough shape and trying to stay out of trouble, which is challenging for me under the best of circumstances. I remember the pine cone of I think a yellow pine species opens up at 170 degrees, so it typically opens in response to fire. A quick google suggests it is called a Jack Pine. Hurricanes are also thought to be responsible for bringing fly species t…

I believe you are referring to Lodgepole Pines

There are quite a large number of pines that do this.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#58

Post by me_me_me »

samcheng wrote: post #8

A hundred miles north of this fire, at the Armstrong Redwood State Park, there is another lightning-caused wildfire that is burning through an old growth grove. That fire is burning through the forest floor only, and is significantly less dangerous. The 1400-year-old Armstrong tree, and park buildings, have been protected, while the fire is free to burn through the surrounding undergrowth. Everyone involved seems to…

> Everyone involved seems to suggest that the fire is a net positive for the forest, and an overdue ecological renewal.

Nature has adopted to occasional fire, difference here is that humans decided they can stop forest fires. And we did. But with that the undergrowth became more and more dangerous.

This slow buildup results in bigger and more aggressive fires. I am not sure how those are impacting the forests vs natural more mild fires.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#59

Post by justforfunhere »

waihtis wrote: post #55

Offtopic: anybody else find it hilarious how this completely serious news piece is followed by a section of spam-grade garbage "advertisements?" [1] How the hell does a news organization decide this is a worthy way of pumping up revenues? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboola#Reception ps. not on my usual computer, yes I know of adblocking :-)

This has been the case with most News Sites, information portals etc for the last 2-3 years. They have semi-porn pictures with click bait titles after the news story that lure users into shady sites with shady intentions.

Re: 2,000-year-old redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

#60

Post by ggop »

hardmath123 wrote: post #23
DoreenMichele wrote: post #5

Redwoods not only survive the fires, they tend to proliferate afterwards. After lesser trees have been cleared out by the fires, redwood seedlings take root. Redwoods also thrive in low rain areas that are prone to fog because they benefit from the fog in a way that other trees do not. I once suggested redwoods as an alternate or additional metaphor for giftedness re Stephanie Tolan's "Is it a cheetah?" https://www.s…

I believe the heat of a wildfire is literally the trigger for the cone to open up and release the redwood's seeds! (I don't know the exact mechanism for this, though.)

The Mountain Ash trees of south east Australia are similar in that the bushfire helps release seeds. These are also one of the tallest tree species on the planet.

https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/static/interplay-with-fire

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