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Ecology and Environmental Issues of the Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), Now Restricted to California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Thomas R. Vale
Thomas R. Vale
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.
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Extract

Although they were widely distributed during Cainozoic times, both the Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) became restricted to greatly reduced ranges in California (and, in the latter instance, southernmost Oregon) during the late Tertiary and Quaternary periods. Today, the Sierra Redwood occurs in about 70 scattered groves, occupying an aggregate of 144 km2 on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada; about 66% of the areas of these groves remain unlogged, and most of these virgin stands are protected within national parks.

Fire suppression policies of the National Park Service and other government land agencies have created conditions that are both unsuited for Sierra Redwood reproduction and hazardous to existing trees. Successful seed germination requires a mineral seed-bed, such as is usually exposed through fire. Burned sites also enhance seedling survival through increased sunlight penetration, reduced competition, and improved soil-moisture content. Fire suppression has, however, allowed the accumulation of large volumes of combustible fuels, increasing the probability of destructive crown-fires. In order to rectify these problems, the National Park Service has begun a programme of prescribed burning in Sequoia–Kings Canyon National Parks; to date, about 3.4 km2 have been treated. Thus, the environmental issues facing the Sierra Redwood involve perpetuating the tree within parks that are secure from commercial utilization.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1975 , pp. 179 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1975

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