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Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
Coast
redwoods the tallest trees in the world, towering 300-350 feet
tall and sometimes even reaching heights of 375 feet - taller
than the Statue of Liberty! The Los Padres contains the
southernmost grove of coast redwoods, and while still towering
giants, redwoods in the Los Padres are smaller than their
northern counterparts, reaching heights of around 200 feet
because of the warmer, drier climates here.
Photo © Greg Hirson
In addition to their legendary height, coast redwoods are also
recognized for their long lives. Coast redwoods in old-growth
stands are often recorded to be over 1,000 years old, yet the
oldest recorded coastal redwood was nearly 2,200 years old! The
longevity of coast redwoods is attributed to their resistance to
fire, and the high level of tannic acid in their bark and
heartwood gives redwoods a powerful resistance to disease and
insect infestations as well. This ancient, giant of a tree is
not protected under the Endangered Species Act, but is listed as
vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources).
What’s in a
Name
The coast
redwood is one of three species of trees referred to as
“redwoods,” the others being the Giant Sequoia,
Sequoiadendron giganteum, found only in the Sierra Nevada,
and the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, found
native in only one remaining forest of about 5,000 trees in
China. The scientific name Sequoia comes from the
Cherokee Indian chief Sequoyah and sempervirens is Latin
for “always green.”
Habitat
 Coast
redwoods are found in a narrow band along the California Coast
from around the Oregon border to the Santa Lucia Mountains in
southern Monterey County. Throughout the northern portion of the
Los Padres, redwoods can be found in small groves near the ocean
or in foggy canyons, around creeks, and in other areas that meet
its requirements of cooler temperatures and sufficient rainfall.
Fog is especially important in the summertime, as it helps
maintain soil moisture during summer. The dryer, warmer climate
of the Los Padres restricts available redwood habitat to mostly
isolated locations, like north-facing slopes or canyon bottoms.
This isolation at the southern edge of the redwood’s current
range may cause the redwoods in the Los Padres to be genetically
unique from northern populations of redwood.
The Resilient
Redwood
When it comes
to outcompeting other species in the undergrowth for a spot in
the canopy, coast redwoods have many advantages. A mature
redwood can release around six million seeds a year and although
only five percent or less of them germinate and fewer become
saplings, those that do can endure in the shade of the
undergrowth for hundreds of years waiting for the slightest
opening in the canopy. Redwood saplings are able to grow in deep
shade, but with plenty of sun and wet soil a sapling can grow
six feet in just one growing season, easily outdistancing other
species in the undergrowth.
The coast
redwood not only outcompetes other undergrowth plants it also
often outlives them by readily adapting when conditions change.
In the case of fire, the coast redwood has many adaptations that
enable it to live. For one thing the fire resistant bark of the
coast redwood can be up to 12 inches thick, acting as a shield
against fire. This is why many of the coast redwoods you see
have black scars running far up their trunks, having endured
many fires throughout their long lives. In addition, its wood
does not contain the flammable resins that cause many other
conifers to burn easily. Second, the root system of the coast
redwood enables it to adapt to changing soil conditions. Often
the canyons where redwoods reside are subjected to floods of mud
after a fire burns the vegetation from slopes and winter rains
wash the soil and debris into the canyons. The coast redwood has
the ability to create new, higher root systems following the
deposition of sediment around its base, meaning it can
outcompete many other species that are smothered by such
conditions.
Coast
redwoods that have fallen, been logged, or have been badly
damaged by fire do not always die. A damaged coast redwood has
the ability to regenerate by sprouting clones from its stump or
the dormant basal buds located on its roots, taking advantage of
the established root system to grow more rapidly. These sprouts
form a ring of trees, often called a “fairy ring,” around the
stump of their parent tree. Recent fires in the northern Los
Padres give forest enthusiasts a unique opportunity to see the
resilience of the redwood’s fire-resistant bark, as well as its
ability to sprout back after a fire.
Unique
Redwood Stands in the Los Padres
The
Southern Redwood Special Interest Area was established in the
Los Padres National Forest in 2005 to protect the southernmost
stand of redwoods in California. Courtesy Google Earth
The Los
Padres National Forest is home to roughly 6,621 acres of redwood
forest cover, as well as the southern tip of the coast redwood’s
current range. Located in Monterey County, the Southern Redwood
Botanical Area (also known as the Southern Redwood Special
Interest Area) encompasses the southern most stand of
natural redwood trees and was designated for its unique
botanical values. This area is small (17 acres) and narrow,
since redwoods at this latitude usually occur along streams, and
is located in the Little Redwood Gulch watershed adjacent to the
Silver Peak Wilderness.
Amidst the
coast redwood forests of California and Oregon, old growth
redwood stands are rare because over 95% of the original, virgin
redwood forests have been logged. However, protected in the
Ventana Wilderness of our National Forest in the deep canyons
formed by the Big Sur and Little Sur Rivers lies some of the
remaining virgin stands of coast redwood—just a beautiful hike
away. Other visitors to the Ventana Wilderness include the
banana slug, the trowbridge shrew, and even California condors,
which have been found nesting in the cavities of redwood trees
in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres.
An endangered condor peers from
a nest in the cavity of a redwood in the
Ventanta Wilderness. Photo © Joseph Brandt/Ventana Wildlife
Society
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