Hobbies And Interests
Redwood Bark
Redwood bark, red-brown to gray in color, is fibrous and furrowed with vertical ridges. Growing up to 1 foot thick, the bark of a redwood is an evolutionary adaptation to the periodic fires that happen in the areas, mostly California, where the trees live. The trees may be left charred by a fire, but thanks to the bark shielding and the chemical tannin, not burned to the ground. Natural fires are actually good for the redwood forest ecosystem. They destroy harmful insects and sicknesses and clear the understory to help prepare for new seeding. Human suppression of these fires can actually cause redwood trees to lose their tolerance to fire and immunity to disease.
Other Adaptations
Another adaptation the redwood tree has based on its natural environment is an important relationship with fog. California summers can be dry and provide little precipitation other than fog. During these months, the trees can get up to 40 percent of their water from fog. This moisture can also wash collected matter on the leaves to the ground, mixing nutrients in them with the soil. As a response to flooding, if the redwood's roots get inundated with silt, the tree will stop growing them and grow new roots to replace them.
Redwood Life Cycle
Redwood trees are the tallest living organisms on Earth, reaching heights of up to 360 feet. They also live a long time, typically between 500 and 1,000 years, though some redwoods have lived more than 2,000 years. The trees reproduce in two ways: seeds and sprouts. The cones containing the seeds are the size of an olive. Peak seed production occurs between the ages of 60 to 250 years. Seed-grown trees grow up fast, often growing up to 30 feet within 20 years. The sprouts form around the base of the trunk and are nurtured by the parent tree's roots. They grow slowly, because of a growth regulating hormone. If enough survive, they can create a ring that's known as a family circle. If the parent tree dies, these sprouts are allowed to grow normally into mature trees.
Upper Trunks
The redwood tree has the ability to sprout whole new trunks from the side of the main trunk. They grow straight and upright, essentially just like they were new trees. Dead foliage can collect at the base of these upper trunks and over decades and centuries, create soil. Shrubs, ferns and even other full-grown trees have sprouted from this soil. This results in a self-contained ecosystem high up in the forest canopy nearest to essential warmth and light, unlike on the forest floor below.