But how do you move toward old-growth characteristics most efficiently? This often leads to people blazing their own trails either because the officially designated trail does not provide close access, or because there is no official trail to a specific tree or grove. After clear-cutting, too many seeds were planted, producing a forest in which too many young trees competed for light, water and other resources. Snags are another characteristic feature of an old-growth forest. Now, research by the US Forest Service has confirmed the wisdom of thinning, or removing select trees to reduce competition in a stand. So, once again, fires gave redwoods a relative advantage. Learn more about this research. Seeds can also germinate on duff and logs. A recent study funded by Save the Redwoods League explored the differences between coastal versions of this sturdy red-barked shrub and their more sun-loving cousins. A single population of about 100 remains on the coastal edge of the Six Rivers National Forest, roughly between Crescent City and Arcata. This way of reproduction results in trees that are genetically identical to the previous tree. Learn more about this research. Learn more. Learn more about this research. Ellyson and Sillett reveal in this study that Douglas-fir has a rival in Sitka spruce, a tree that grows in and among northern coast redwood forests and supports a shockingly high diversity of epiphytes. And now, because of internet and mobile technology, the locations of more and more of the tallest redwoods are becoming public knowledge, drawing more people to these giants. Wandering Salamanders (Aneides vagrans), in addition to dwelling on the ground, have been found in high-up patches of humus moss mats in trunk crotches, on limbs, under bark, and in the cracked and rotting wood of coast redwood trees. Upland forests in Redwood National Park have been studied extensively. Learn more about this research. From time to time, a resident in Humboldt County will submit a report claiming to have spotted a Pacific fisher or a Humboldt marten. Genome science has made stunning advances in the past few decades. Humboldt State University and California State Parks research studies new approaches to variable-density thinning across the entire Mill Creek property. They expected that evergreen leaves, which are thicker, would show fewer signs of water stress. Learn more about this research. Coast redwood forests depend on fog to survive the nearly rainless summers of California’s Mediterranean climate. Researchers at San Jose State University wondered how long it takes for a forest to truly recover after clear-cutting, and decided to approach the question by comparing forests in different age classes. Researchers Garth Hodgson and Hartwell Welsh pay particular attention to tiny amphibians such as frogs, salamanders, newts in redwood forests, because published studies suggest they are indicators of forest health. In a forest of towering redwoods, the small creatures scurrying underfoot and splashing into streambeds sometimes go unnoticed as visitors crane their necks toward distant treetops. Is it possible, though, that just one tree could benefit an ecosystem enough to warrant individual protection? But no one knew for sure whether they represented typical redwood forests—or just the ones with the most interesting or abundant redwoods. Learn more about this research. While most animals live on the Earth’s surface, this well-hidden amphibian travels mostly up and down in the rocks and soil. For more than half a century, the Mill Creek region in Northern California produced lumber. Humboldt State University fisheries biologist Darren Ward was concerned, but not surprised, when New Zealand mud snails showed up in Redwood National Park in 2009. Learn more about this research. Bark – The bark of mature redwood trees can grow at least a foot thick, creating a great protective shield from fires. Ramage saw many 4- to 5-foot-tall tanoak sprouts forming dense clumps around the trunk after only one year. What’s less understood, however, is exactly how fog frequency has varied in the past century and how redwoods have responded to this variation. Learn more about this research. A US Forest Service ecologist, Weller decided to check out his own backyard: the redwood forests of Northwest California. The vitality of the seed persists for two or three years. Species that don’t need disturbances tend to be shade tolerant, slower growing and longer lived. Humans are “diploid,” meaning that for each chromosome, they have one copy inherited from their mother and one from their father. Unlike coast redwoods, giant sequoias rarely sprout from their bases. But in 2008, more than 2,000 fires ignited forests in Northern and Central California during a single summertime lightning storm. Overwhelmed by conflagrations in drier areas, firefighters allowed many of fires in coast redwood forests to burn. Learn more about this research. Our tax identification number is 94-0843915. Learn more about this research. “One year later, even large trees where all the foliage … Learn more about this research. Grant Applicant Organization: Environmental Science Policy and Management (UC Berkeley), Grantee: Benjamin S. Ramage, Kevin L. O'Hara, and Benjamin T. Caldwell. As a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley, Emily Burns set out to discover whether other plants in the redwood ecosystem were equally adept at “foliar uptake.” Learn more about this research. Dr. Sarah Marvin, professor of Geography at the University of Oregon, has set out to understand how the shape of the land and its use by owners reflect the probability of a privately owned coast redwood forest being protected. Compared with the majestic redwood, it’s scruffy and small. Learn more about this research. Second-growth forest habitats that cover a majority of the park are fishers’ sweet and martens’ sour. Save the Redwoods League is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. But the redwood was nearly indestructible. Both as shrubs and mid-sized trees, tanoaks are an important element in Central California’s coast redwood forests. Yet these green specks grew into giant sequoias two years after seeds were strewn in canopy gaps. In detailed studies of small 7 to 10-acre plots involving sugar pine, incense-cedar, white fir, and ponderosa pine, frequencies … Fritz and Metcalf intended to study tree growth on their plot in order to better understand just how a second growth forest develops. They examined both trees’ abilities to survive fires of varying severity and reproduce by sprouting. I mean, it's unlikely that a fire would be intense enough to kill all the growing tissues that are in the soil and the root ball. The Redwood trees produce fertile seed much later in life than do many other species of trees. But until a few years ago, less was known about streamside, or “riparian,” forests, which benefit the park’s salmon habitat by providing shade, erosion control and woody debris in the streams. We should look down, though, say researchers from the Redwood Sciences Laboratory, who visited several state parks to study the ecosystems that surround and support those mighty trees. So, just how great is the impact of these unofficial trails? These trees aren't only good at fending off forest fires because of their thick trunk, which holds a lot of water on the inside of the tree, but the tannins ward of any insects, fungus and diseases that will try to damage the tree. Researchers in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley investigated foliar uptake in western swordfern, an integral species in the redwood ecosystem. In addition, they combined observations from this study and others to describe the natural history of Yosemite’s 18 bat species. Legacy trees, old-growth trees left standing in second-growth redwood forests, could serve as a habitat refuge for terrestrial microarthropods, miniscule bugs that live in the forest floor and maintain healthy soils, not to be confused with the bigger arthropods like spiders and bees. Dr. William Russell found that the negative effects of timber harvesting in riparian coast redwood forests lessen with respect to two conditions; (1) longevity of the forest and (2) wider no-cut buffer zones. Recent League-supported research by Rikke Reese Naesborg looked at the epiphyte community in three coast redwood parks in the southern redwood range. Riparian buffers are strips of forest left on either side of rivers after logging that control the amount of sediment and nutrients filtering into the water. Finding scientific resources on a specific plant species like the giant sequoia can be a daunting task. Learn more about this research. Learn more about this research. They need ancient forests—and used to thrive in the coast redwoods of California. Overwhelmed by conflagrations in drier areas, firefighters allowed many of fires in coast redwood forests to burn. They add structural diversity and, through their acorns, abundant food for wildlife. “If you want more redwoods, it’s probably better to utilize fires.”. Redwood trees are known for having bark with a deep rosy hue that's about 12 inches thick. York, along with his graduate advisor, John Battles, is working on unlocking the secrets to growing new giants. William Ellyson and Stephen Sillett found evidence that demonstrates that epiphytes—plants that use other plants for mechanical support—play a crucial role in maintaining the biodiversity of redwood forest canopies. This struggle begins a process that limits tree growth, according to a team of researchers studying redwoods in Prairie Creek and Humboldt Redwoods State Parks. Large, down trees may lie on the forest floor, gradually decaying, for many hundreds of years. The Redwood trees produce fertile seed much later in life than do many other species of trees. Eric Draper/AP. Unless a large redwood topples, it's going to sprout even from the base. To find out, researchers scrutinized burned and unburned forests at four sites: one in Big Sur, one near Santa Cruz and two in Mendocino County. “Fire is a natural part of the redwood ecosystem,” says Anthony Ambrose, a forest ecologist and redwood expert. Researchers found in a 2007 study that coast redwoods’ genetic diversity was “very high” throughout the state, and more divergent in Central California. This bark has high water content, which also helps prevent it from burning easily. Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) grows in coastal forests in Oregon and California. When Weller had surveyed a common species called the silver-haired bat in summer, he’d found almost all males. This helps prevent fire from getting to the more easily burned sapwood behind the bark. However the question may be put in a different way - whether fire help redwood trees in their propagation and growth. Sequoia regeneration needs open space, and researchers have discovered that gaps in the forest canopy up to 0.5 … Bole Survival and Basal Sprouting of Redwood and Associated Species One Year after Wildfire. Learn more about this research. Learn more about this research. “One year later, even large trees where all the foliage was scorched off were covered with a light green fuzz of new foliage,” said Berkeley Ecologist Benjamin S. Ramage, who led the research project. To find out, researchers scrutinized burned and unburned forests at four sites: one in Big Sur, one near Santa Cruz and two in Mendocino County. In good living conditions with a lot of sunlight, redwood seedlings grow quickly, more than a foot per year in some trees. They may inhabit forest canopies, the researchers of this study speculate, because of a more profitable food resource available there. The largest living things in the past 70 to 80 years, most fires in California ’ s surface this! 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