Worsening drought and wildfires in California are pushing giant sequoias, the biggest trees on Earth, into decline.
Worsening drought and wildfires in California are pushing giant sequoias, the biggest trees on Earth, into decline. But sequoias that have been planted in Britain are flourishing, new research finds.
“The history of these trees in Britain is fascinating — initially as symbols of wealth and power, through to now being widely planted in parks and woodlands,” said Mat Disney, a researcher at University College London and coauthor of the new study. “I find it amazing to see these giants dotted across the landscape and see how rapidly they are growing.”
First introduced to country estates in the 19th century, half a million sequoias now grow in Britain, compared to just 80,000 along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada in California, where they are increasingly imperiled by warming. Up to a fifth of all large giant sequoias in California died in wildfires in 2020 and 2021.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Photo Credit: tripastute via Pixabay
