Guest guest Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 The Trees are Pacific Coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) and there are very few of them left in this world. There is a preserve of them about 1/2 hour from where ai live. They are well over three hundred feet and they have indeed been alive for over a thousand and in some cases two thousand years. The oldest verified redwood tree is at least 2,200 years of age, but foresters believe that some may be much older. I call them Kundalini trees for their rarity and for the expressive heigth. <http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/featur\ es/art23576.html> Sequoia sempervirens, the tallest tree in the world <http://users.telenet.be/sequoiadendron/en/sequoiasempervirens.html> The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is one of the three sequoia species, together with the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). The coast redwood grows in natural stands in a long, thin coastal area along the Pacific Ocean in the west and northwest of the US (mostly California). It is the tallest tree in the world. With its relatively slender silhouette this tree can grow even 20 meters higher than the tallest giant sequoias, that are nevertheless the biggest trees in the world, when looking at the volume of the trunk. The tallest known living tree, named Hyperion, is 115.55 m or 379.1 feet (measured in 2006) tall! This gets close to 120 to 130 m, that, according to a 2004 biological study, is the maximum attainable height [1] of a tree. Foggy coastal forests of the Pacific During the whole year it rains quite a lot in this thin coastal strip and it is quite foggy most of the time. This way the tree can absorb enough water and does not suffer that much from evaporation stress. Most of the tallest trees can be found in the wet river valleys on fertile, alluvial deposits, although unexpectedly a couple of recently discovered record breaking trees appeared to grow on the valley slopes. The coast redwood forests have an abundant undergrowth (amongst which there are a lot of ferns). However, the biggest biodiversity can be found tens of meters up: differents species of plants, lichens, salamanders, ... live high up in the sky between the complex branch systems of the redwoods. Prof. Steve Sillett, who studies these redwood canopies, compares them with " hanging gardens " . [...] The tallest tree in the worldWorld's tallest tree as of 2007 The tallest tree in the world is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), named Hyperion after a person in Greek mythology. He is no less than 115.55 m (379.1 feet) tall! This enormous tree was discovered only in August 2006 in a remote part of the Redwood National Park, California by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. Their first preliminary measurements were done with professional laser measurement equipment based on goniometry. In September 2006 the tree was remeasured by Steve Sillett. This was done in the most accurate way: he climbed to the top of the tree to drop a tape from there straight to the ground. This tape drop was filmed for National Geographic. In July 2006 some other record tall trees were discovered: " Helios " (named after the Greek God of the sun), the world's tallest known tree as of June 2006 (114.09 m), " Icarus " (113.14 m), and " Daedalus " (110.76 m). The discoveries of 2006 are remarkable: these trees appeared to grow on slopes and not in the center of the valleys where water is most abundant, and where all the previous contenders to the title " tallest living tree in the world " grow. This means that it's not unlikely that there are even taller, not as such discovered trees out there, simply because people weren't looking for them there. Now the forested slopes are being sought trough by tall tree hunters Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. It's on a location like that that in August 2006 the current tallest (known as such) tree of 115.55 m was found [2] [3]. In 2007 Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor had already scanned most of these new, unexpected locations. They think it's very unlikely a taller tree than Hyperion will be found, but you never know. Hyperion has been quite lucky: only a few hundred feet from the base is the edge of a clearcut from the seventies. Clearcutting is a forestry practice in which all trees in an area are logged and the entire area is devastated. About two weeks before also Hyperion would have been attacked by the chain saws, this valley was added to the Redwood National Park during the Carter administration. Logging companies feared this would happen and worked 24/7 in the broad redwood valleys and kept logging old growth forests that were there long before men were ever entered these valleys. In the seventies only an alarming 15% of the rich redwood forests remained, nowadays only 4% still exists and even today, as you read this, old growth Californian forests are being logged (more). According to redwood standards, Hyperion is quite young and still growing vigourously. Sillett thinks the tree might be " only " 600 years old, which is about 20 years in human time [7]. Until July 2006 the tallest known Sequoia sempervirens was " The Stratosphere Giant " (image on the left). He is 112.83 m tall (measured in 2004, Steve Sillett) en was only discovered in August 2000 (by Chris Atkins) in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, where a lot of these giants grow. It is very difficult to appreciate the majestic height of these trees from a photo. The image on the left gives a little bit a sense of scale: on the right you can see a person hanging on a climbing rope (click to view a larger version). Just as is the case with other giants, like the " The Federation Giant " (112 m), the exact location is kept secret by the park rangers to avoid a tourist stampede to the tree. This could unbalance the fragile ecosystem of the forest and could harm the tree directly: in the past things already went wrong for tall trees that became too popular (see below). In case you don't have a clue about how tall 155.55 m (379.1 feet) is: the height of Big Ben in London is 96.3 m (316 feet), that of the statue of Liberty is 46.5 + 46.9 m (151 + 154 feet), so both tall constructions are largely lower than these trees. Note that although the tallest living tree in the world is a coast redwood, the biggest living tree on the planet is a specimen of a related species, the giant sequoia. [http://z.hubpages.com/u/752111_f520.jpg] , " boltonben111 " <erniebeneventi wrote: > > Wow Edok (Edgar), > By the sounds of it, you really had a fantastic time. Wish I could have been there too. > I'm curious about the tree...what type of tree is it. You gave a really good detailed description...do have any photos? I would really like to see the tree and the stained glass in St. Rafael's. > > Be Well, > Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 i have got to see these trees in person! wow , " chrism " <> wrote: > > The Trees are Pacific Coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) and > there are very few of them left in this world. There is a preserve of > them about 1/2 hour from where ai live. They are well over three hundred > feet and they have indeed been alive for over a thousand and in some > cases two thousand years. The oldest verified redwood tree is at least > 2,200 years of age, but foresters believe that some may be much > older. I call them Kundalini trees for their rarity and for the > expressive heigth. > > > <http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/featur\ > es/art23576.html> Sequoia sempervirens, the tallest tree in the world > <http://users.telenet.be/sequoiadendron/en/sequoiasempervirens.html> > The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is one of the three sequoia > species, together with the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and > the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). The coast redwood grows > in natural stands in a long, thin coastal area along the Pacific Ocean > in the west and northwest of the US (mostly California). It is the > tallest tree in the world. > With its relatively slender silhouette this tree can grow even 20 meters > higher than the tallest giant sequoias, that are nevertheless the > biggest trees in the world, when looking at the volume of the trunk. The > tallest known living tree, named Hyperion, is 115.55 m or 379.1 feet > (measured in 2006) tall! This gets close to 120 to 130 m, that, > according to a 2004 biological study, is the maximum attainable height > [1] of a tree. > > > Foggy coastal forests of the Pacific During the whole year it rains > quite a lot in this thin coastal strip and it is quite foggy most of the > time. This way the tree can absorb enough water and does not suffer that > much from evaporation stress. Most of the tallest trees can be found in > the wet river valleys on fertile, alluvial deposits, although > unexpectedly a couple of recently discovered record breaking trees > appeared to grow on the valley slopes. The coast redwood forests have an > abundant undergrowth (amongst which there are a lot of ferns). However, > the biggest biodiversity can be found tens of meters up: differents > species of plants, lichens, salamanders, ... live high up in the sky > between the complex branch systems of the redwoods. Prof. Steve Sillett, > who studies these redwood canopies, compares them with " hanging > gardens " . > [...] > > > The tallest tree in the worldWorld's tallest tree as of 2007 > The tallest tree in the world is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), > named Hyperion after a person in Greek mythology. He is no less than > 115.55 m (379.1 feet) tall! This enormous tree was discovered only in > August 2006 in a remote part of the Redwood National Park, California by > naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. Their first preliminary > measurements were done with professional laser measurement equipment > based on goniometry. In September 2006 the tree was remeasured by Steve > Sillett. This was done in the most accurate way: he climbed to the top > of the tree to drop a tape from there straight to the ground. This tape > drop was filmed for National Geographic. > > In July 2006 some other record tall trees were discovered: " Helios " > (named after the Greek God of the sun), the world's tallest known tree > as of June 2006 (114.09 m), " Icarus " (113.14 m), and " Daedalus " (110.76 > m). > > The discoveries of 2006 are remarkable: these trees appeared to grow on > slopes and not in the center of the valleys where water is most > abundant, and where all the previous contenders to the title " tallest > living tree in the world " grow. This means that it's not unlikely that > there are even taller, not as such discovered trees out there, simply > because people weren't looking for them there. Now the forested slopes > are being sought trough by tall tree hunters Chris Atkins and Michael > Taylor. It's on a location like that that in August 2006 the current > tallest (known as such) tree of 115.55 m was found [2] [3]. In 2007 > Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor had already scanned most of these new, > unexpected locations. They think it's very unlikely a taller tree than > Hyperion will be found, but you never know. > > Hyperion has been quite lucky: only a few hundred feet from the base is > the edge of a clearcut from the seventies. Clearcutting is a forestry > practice in which all trees in an area are logged and the entire area is > devastated. About two weeks before also Hyperion would have been > attacked by the chain saws, this valley was added to the Redwood > National Park during the Carter administration. Logging companies feared > this would happen and worked 24/7 in the broad redwood valleys and kept > logging old growth forests that were there long before men were ever > entered these valleys. > > In the seventies only an alarming 15% of the rich redwood forests > remained, nowadays only 4% still exists and even today, as you read > this, old growth Californian forests are being logged (more). > > According to redwood standards, Hyperion is quite young and still > growing vigourously. Sillett thinks the tree might be " only " 600 years > old, which is about 20 years in human time [7]. > > Until July 2006 the tallest known Sequoia sempervirens was " The > Stratosphere Giant " (image on the left). He is 112.83 m tall (measured > in 2004, Steve Sillett) en was only discovered in August 2000 (by Chris > Atkins) in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, where a lot of > these giants grow. It is very difficult to appreciate the majestic > height of these trees from a photo. The image on the left gives a little > bit a sense of scale: on the right you can see a person hanging on a > climbing rope (click to view a larger version). > > Just as is the case with other giants, like the " The Federation Giant " > (112 m), the exact location is kept secret by the park rangers to avoid > a tourist stampede to the tree. This could unbalance the fragile > ecosystem of the forest and could harm the tree directly: in the past > things already went wrong for tall trees that became too popular (see > below). > > In case you don't have a clue about how tall 155.55 m (379.1 feet) is: > the height of Big Ben in London is 96.3 m (316 feet), that of the statue > of Liberty is 46.5 + 46.9 m (151 + 154 feet), so both tall constructions > are largely lower than these trees. > > Note that although the tallest living tree in the world is a coast > redwood, the biggest living tree on the planet is a specimen of a > related species, the giant sequoia. > > > > > > [http://z.hubpages.com/u/752111_f520.jpg] > > > , " boltonben111 " > <erniebeneventi@> wrote: > > > > Wow Edok (Edgar), > > By the sounds of it, you really had a fantastic time. Wish I could > have been there too. > > I'm curious about the tree...what type of tree is it. You gave a > really good detailed description...do have any photos? I would really > like to see the tree and the stained glass in St. Rafael's. > > > > Be Well, > > Ernie > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Chrism, Wow...again Wow. I had a diffult time visualizing stepping into a tree until I saw the photo's. I was really amazed of their beauty, age, and elegance. Be Well and Thank you for sharing, Ernie , " chrism " <> wrote: > > The Trees are Pacific Coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) and > there are very few of them left in this world. There is a preserve of > them about 1/2 hour from where ai live. They are well over three Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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