Facts about Sequoia
The elevation of Giant Sequoia groves generally ranges from 1,400-2,000 meters (4,600-6,600 ft) in the north, and 1,700-2,150 meters (5,600-7,000 ft) to the south.
The natural distribution of Giant Sequoia is restricted to along a limited area of the western Sierra Nevada, California.
The three redwood species are the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), the Giant Sequoia or Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
The oldest known Giant Sequoia based on ring count is 3,200 years old.
The Giant Sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers and snowy winters.
Among current living trees only 15 Giant Sequoias are larger than this; these are shorter, but have thicker trunks, giving the largest Giant Sequoia, “General Sherman,” a volume of 1,487 m3 (52,510 cubic feet).
During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, extensive forests of Metasequoia occurred as far north as Axel Heiberg Island (northern Canada) at around 80° N latitude.
The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is found in central China in the provinces of Sichuan and Hubei.
Private plantings of Giant Sequoias around the Middle Atlantic States are not uncommon.
The Giant Sequoia regenerates primarily by seed, although occasionally it may reproduce naturally by vegetative methods; trees up to about 20 years old may produce stump sprouts subsequent to injury.
Wildfires, often viewed simply as destructive forces of nature, are essential for the reproduction of the Giant Sequoia.
Most Giant Sequoia groves are on granitic-based residual and alluvial soils.
Large petrified trunks and stumps of the extinct Metasequoia occidentalis also make up the major portion of Tertiary fossil plant material in the badlands of western North Dakota in the United States.
Few groves, however, have sufficient young trees to maintain the present density of mature Giant Sequoias for the future.
Many are protected in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Giant Sequoia National Monument.
Sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 60 cm (2 ft) thick at the base of the trunk.
Wood from mature Giant Sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but is fibrous and brittle, making it generally unsuitable for construction.
Giant Sequoia of all ages may sprout from the bole when old branches are lost to fire or breakage, but (unlike Coast Redwood) mature trees do not sprout from cut stumps.
Without fire, shade-loving species will crowd out young sequoia seedlings, and sequoia seeds will not germinate.
The majority of Giant Sequoias are currently undergoing a gradual decline in density.
The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadenron giganteum) is the world's largest tree in terms of total volume.
The upper part of the crown of any mature Giant Sequoia invariably produces a greater abundance of cones than its lower portions.
Giant Sequoia of all ages may sprout from the bole when old branches are lost to fire or breakage, but (unlike Coast Redwood) mature trees do not sprout from cut stumps.
A mature Giant Sequoia has been estimated to disperse from 300,000-400,000 seeds per year.
The three redwood species are the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), the Giant Sequoia or Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
Few groves, however, have sufficient young trees to maintain the present density of mature Giant Sequoias for the future.