Last updated: July 19, 2022
Place
Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #3
Dave Van de Mark
Quick Facts
Location:
Lady Bird Johnson Trail
Significance:
Walking tour in old-growth redwoods
Designation:
National Park
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
Fire Survivor
How do hollow redwoods survive? Despite the North Coast’s wet climate, redwood forests experience occasional wildfires. Fire plays a critical role by clearing dense ground cover and giving new seedlings the opportunity to grow. More intense wildfires remove the middle canopy layer of tanoak, hemlock, and rhododendron, scarring the redwoods as high as 100 feet above their bases.
Countless wildfires have scorched the base of this redwood. Its thick, insulating bark lacks the volatile resins found in pines, firs, and spruce, and its sap is largely water. This combination slows combustion, while the surrounding vegetation burns vigorously.
Fire can burn repeatedly through cracks in the bark into the heartwood but leave the outside growing layers intact. In time, the damaged heartwood decays, leaving behind hollows used as shelter by wildlife. Fire creates, not destroys, the mosaic of life in the redwood forest.
How do hollow redwoods survive? Despite the North Coast’s wet climate, redwood forests experience occasional wildfires. Fire plays a critical role by clearing dense ground cover and giving new seedlings the opportunity to grow. More intense wildfires remove the middle canopy layer of tanoak, hemlock, and rhododendron, scarring the redwoods as high as 100 feet above their bases.
Countless wildfires have scorched the base of this redwood. Its thick, insulating bark lacks the volatile resins found in pines, firs, and spruce, and its sap is largely water. This combination slows combustion, while the surrounding vegetation burns vigorously.
Fire can burn repeatedly through cracks in the bark into the heartwood but leave the outside growing layers intact. In time, the damaged heartwood decays, leaving behind hollows used as shelter by wildlife. Fire creates, not destroys, the mosaic of life in the redwood forest.