There are only about 80,000 giant sequoias left in California. After years of drought, roughly 10% of these enormous ancient trees died in a massive fire in 2020. The future for them does not look good.
But I just learned that there are about 500,000 giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods in the UK!
They were first introduced in 1853 by the Scottish grain merchant Patrick Matthew. Later that year, renowned nurseryman William Lobb brought over many more seeds and seedlings. Because of their rarity and novelty, these trees were very expensive. But that worked in their favor: they became a symbol of wealth in Victorian Britain. People planted them at the entrances of grand houses and estates, along avenues and within churchyards and parks.
The map shows just 4949 of the giant sequoias in the UK. Surprisingly, they thrive there, despite the climate being very different from that in their native range - the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, dry in the summer and snowy in the winter.
They are now the largest trees in the UK! A new study shows each tree sequesters carbon at the rate of 85 kilograms per year, on average. This is very high for trees, and sequoias keep growing for centuries. People are wanting to plant more.
Invasive species - or wonderful rescue of a species that might otherwise go extinct? Evolution does its thing regardless of our value judgements, but what we do affects it. Long ago, giant sequoias were common in North American and Eurasian coniferous forests. By the last ice age, their range had shrunk to a small area in California. Now, thanks to humans, they are spreading again.
More: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230603
@johncarlosbaez I visited Whakarewarewa redwood forest in New Zealand a couple of years ago. I think the redwoods may even prefer the NZ climate to California. Apparently they grow pretty fast.
@dpiponi @johncarlosbaez obligatory note about the difference between coastal redwoods and giant sequoias: https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/upload/ThreeTrees-2014-508.pdf
@mjambon @dpiponi - I'm delighted that the article you sent also contains a picture of a metasequoia. We have one here in Riverside California, and I'd never heard of them before bumping into this one (which has a plaque). The term "metasequoia" is delightful and so is the actual tree, though it's tiny compared to the coastal redwood or giant sequoia. I don't know what's "meta" about it.
@johncarlosbaez
As a prefix, "meta-" can mean so many things, I'm not sure. Maybe it means "modified sequoia" as in "metamorphism" (geology)?
https://www.etymonline.com/word/meta-
