Redwood is the most acknowledged and the coolest forest ever to exist. Apart from having the tallest trees in the universe, redwood has majestic and beautiful trees. You find yourself experiencing the beauty of nature and breathing easily in the forest. If you are wondering why the redwood forest is popular, here are some facts.
Tallest Trees on the Planet
The Redwood forest has the tallest trees in the world. The trees are nearly 400 feet high, which is equivalent to a thirty-seven-story building. The trees, particularly coast redwoods, are so high that you cannot see the top even on a bright day when standing at the bottom. The tallest redwood trees have been given great names, like Hyperion (398 feet tall) and Daedalus (363 feet tall). The exact place of these tallest redwoods is unknown to prevent destruction.
Redwood can grow so tall because they adapt well to the foggy and temperate climate. These trees typically live for five hundred to eight hundred years, even though some are said to live for more than 2000 years. This means some of the redwoods in today’s world existed during the Roman Empire era. The coastal redwoods are documented to be more than 240 million years.
They Grow in Circular Clusters
Although redwoods are huge and tall, they have tiny cones that spread their seeds. Their root system is large, extending 100 miles away, and intertwines with other redwood roots. These root systems often spread from a dead tree- their source and growing into circular groups known as fairy rings.
The most interesting thing about these fairy ring trees is that they end up becoming a generic replica of the original tree when they all grow from one source. It implies that today’s redwoods (http://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/why-redwoods-are-one-of-the-great-wonders-of-the-world) will be last in line for the next 20000 years or more of a tree reproducing itself.
Coastal Redwoods help in Climate Change
Redwoods offers a healthy and stable climate. They capture excess carbon dioxide from our power plants, cars, and trucks more than the other trees. During photosynthesis, redwood transforms the carbon dioxide into the oxygen we breathe, leading to climate change.
When we destroy the redwood forest through our human actions, they release the stored carbon dioxide back to the environment. It leads to double trouble to climatic stability and the world’s carbon cycle. Degrading human actions and deforestation accounts for over thirty percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the universe.
Refrigerator Trees
Even though the redwood forest comprises other trees like bearberry and Pacific madrone trees, Redwoods are intriguing trees famously known as refrigerator trees. They have an infinitely cool temperature that is amazing to experience during hot summer.
Create their Rain
Redwoods require a large amount of water for survival. They consume over 600 quarts every day. Redwoods create their rain by consuming water from coastal fog to survive during hot summers. They can seizure from the air using their specially designed leaves and branches. When fog rolls in the branches, it condenses and drips down the roots and the surrounding redwood community. On foggy days, redwoods make it look like it is raining below.
They are Mini Ecosystems
Because redwood lives for so long and is massive, it can support a wide range of creatures. They are enormous apartment centers. When they shed off their leaves, it lands on the earth surface and covers the earth thus protecting the nutrient-rich soil. According to studies, a single redwood can host over four hundred species of animals, plants, fungi, and also sprouting redwood trees.
They Need Our Help
One of the biggest threats a hundred years ago for these ancient trees is being destroyed. During that time, the redwood forest was cut down, and over 625 acres of land were lost. Thanks to Save the Redwoods League, approximately 200,000 acres have been preserved in Redwoods Park, and redwood forests in private lands are also protected.
Some of the current threats of the redwood forest include fire outbreaks, climatic change, and residential housing development.