THE UNSEEN WORLD OVERHEAD

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THE UNSEEN WORLD OVERHEAD
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SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS

• THE SCIENTIFIC NAME OF COASTAL REDWOODS IS
  LOOSELY TRANSLATED AS EVER LIVING.
• THE GREATEST ACCUMULATION OF PLANT MASS EVER
  RECORDED ON EARTH WAS A REDWOOD STAND IN HUMBOLT
  REDWOODS STATE PARK IN CALIFORNIA.. THIS FOREST
  HAS SEVEN TIMES THE BIOMASS FOUND IN THE TROPICAL
  RAINFOREST. EVERYTHING YOU SEE IN THE REDWOODS
  HAS AN INTERCONNECTING ROLE WITH THE REST OF THE
  FOREST, FROM THE HUGE TREES TO THE SMALLEST
  DECAYING PLANT.

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ANCIENT FOREST

• THE TERMS ANCIENT FOREST AND OLD GROWTH FOREST
  HAVE THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS
• TREES OF ALL AGES
• MANY LAYERS OF CANOPY
• LARGE STANDING DEAD TREES
• LARGE DOWN TREES
• LARGE FALLEN TREES IN STREAMS
• TREES AGES OVER 200 YEARS

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EARTHS HISTORY

• Walking into this forest is comparable to
  stepping back in time.
• Fossil records show redwoods grew naturally in
  many places across the Northern Hemisphere. Due
  to climatic changes and other factors, coast
  redwoods now grow naturally only in a narrow 40
  mile wide and 450 mile long strip from Southern
  Oregon to Southern Monterey County in California.

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THE DEATH OF A TREE

• The death of a tree is the birth of a snag or
  log. Dead trees are essential to the health of a
  forest and they are the basis of its astonishing
  productivity.
• Fallen trees are a substantial reservoir of
  organic matter and water that other plants and
  trees depend on.
• The nutrients the forest needs are not only in
  the soil but also in the living and dead plant
  material itself.

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• As trees and plants die and decay, they are
  recycled to the living forest, with this highly
  efficient system, the forests feeds itself and
  wastes nothing.
• As a tree slowly decays, it becomes a nursery for
  plants. It may take 400 years or longer to
  become incorporated into the forest floor.
  During this time a variety of shrubs and trees
  have the opportunity to develop part or all of
  their root system within the decaying wood.

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LIVING GIANTS

• The high canopy layer is the powerhouse of these
  forests. A large percent of photosynthesis takes
  place at this level.
• Redwoods are so immense that they live in three
  climate zones at once. The base of each tree is
  in one set, the stem in another, and the crown, a
  third.

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PRECIPITATION

• Redwoods need great amounts of moisture. The 65
  inches of rainfall per year plus summer fogs
  moderate the climate. Redwoods help to create
  their own microclimate. Through transpiration of
  moisture from leaves into the atmosphere, each
  redwood can release up to 500 gallons of water
  into the air each day.

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REDWOOD CONES

• Its estimated a single old growth redwood is
  capable of producing 100,000 cones per year.
  Each cone can can have 90-120 seeds. So a single
  tree could produce 10,000,000 seeds. However 90
  will not be fertile due to fungus that attacks
  them. Of the remaining 10, most will die
  unless they find near perfect conditions to
  germinate. Coast redwoods have another method of
  regeneration. They are able to sprout from the
  root crown at the base of the tree. These trees
  eventually grow to maturity even after the parent
  tree has died. Thus a parent tree gives the
  genetic code to many generations.

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DYERVILLE GIANT

• The Dyerville Giant which stood perhaps as long a
  1600 years was taller, larger, and older than
  other trees around it. Before it fell, it was at
  least 362 feet tall, which is comparable to a 30
  story building. It is also 17 feet in diameter
  and 52 feet in circumference. It probably
  weighed over 1,000,000 pounds.

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DEATH OF A GIANT

• The events that cause a giant to fall are common
  in ancient redwood forests. During the rainy
  season, soils become saturated and the trees will
  fall or lean on another causing it to fall.
• Redwood roots grow only a few feet deep in the
  soil, but they can grow laterally a hundred feet
  or more. They also can intertwine and graft on
  one another, thus helping to hold each other up.

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MYSTICAL REDWOODS
WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED OUR UNIT ON THE
REDWOODS. MR. HAHNS 4TH GRADE CLASS SADDLE
MOUNTAIN INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL