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BBC version of same article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623 > An estimated 50
by DrBazza 3y ago
BBC version of same article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623
> An estimated 500,000 trees are in the UK compared to 80,000 in California.
> To assess how these towering giants are adapting to their UK home, scientists selected a sample of nearly 5,000 trees to study at Wakehurst, Benmore Botanic Garden in Argyllshire, Scotland and Havering Country Park in Essex.
> However, while the trees are doing well in the UK, there's little chance of them taking over our native forests any time soon - they're not reproducing here as they need very specific conditions to take seed.
I'm curious about the final statement - the article goes to great lengths to emphasize the similarity in conditions, so I wonder what would be missing that would prevent sequoias from reproducing. And to quote a phrase 'life, uh, finds a way'.
- pjc50 3y agoInteresting. I've seen the ones at Wakehurst, a lot were lost during the 1987 hurricane. I wouldn't worry about rogue trees, pretty much all UK forest is to some extent "curated", even the historic old growth places. And they're not exactly hard to see.
- dbingham 3y agoThey require wild fires to reproduce: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- lukan 3y ago"the seeds only being able to grow successfully in full sun and in mineral-rich soils, free from competing vegetation. Although the seeds can germinate in moist needle humus in the spring, these seedlings will die as the duff dries in the summer. They therefore require periodic wildfire to clear competing vegetation and soil humus before successful regeneration can occur" (Wikipedia) They need fire and sun. (And maybe also cold winters). Britain does not have that.
- lenerdenator 3y agome m8 dave can provide the fire so long as the old bill doesn't find out about it (lad's on magistrate's orders to not have matches)
- __turbobrew__ 3y agoOI wherz ur matches loicense!?
- wizzwizz4 3y agoYou don't need a license for matches. They're not even age-restricted! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-15404073 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-154040...
- pvaldes 3y ago> these seedlings will die as the duff dries in the summer Again the myth of Prometheus, "they need fire, burn, burn, burn"... Yawn. may die --On California-- UK is a little more humid. Sequoiadendron grows happy in most temperate areas, including most of Spain. Segovia has some of the tallest trees out of USA, and is a hot place on summer. We have also a few small Sequioadendron forests on the North of Spain since 1950 or even in Granada since 1870. Some Sequioa sempervirens live even in Jaen (and they don't need fire at all, because gardeners do all the work of taking care for the saplings).
- indoordin0saur 3y agoSide note, but the Sugi tree of Japan is perhaps the most similar tree to the Sequoia in terms of appearance.
- acchow 3y agoDo these redwoods in Spain also reproduce naturally?
- 3y ago
- mytailorisrich 3y agoThe Wikipedia page says that in the wild they usually require wildfires to clear the land and allow the sequoias' seeds to germinates, and the seeds are also fussy: "Although the seeds can germinate in moist needle humus in the spring, these seedlings will die as the duff dries in the summer. They therefore require periodic wildfire to clear competing vegetation and soil humus before successful regeneration can occur. Without fire, shade-loving species will crowd out young sequoia seedlings, and sequoia seeds will not germinate". [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum
- mc32 3y agoI hate when they do apples and oranges comparisons; it renders it almost useless: "There are an estimated half a million redwoods in the UK... fewer than 80,000 giant sequoias remaining in their native California range." generic redwoods in UK 500,000, specific giant sequoias in Calif 80,000. It does not say how many specific giant sequoias there are in the UK.
- bcatanzaro 3y agoIt also doesn’t say how many giant sequoias are in CA. They do grow when planted in CA as well outside their native range. The native giant sequoias live on a tiny fraction of CA’s area, maybe 1%.
- throw310822 3y agoAlso, does this mean that all the 500k trees have been planted?
- tokai 3y ago3128 hectares were planted with trees in UK just last year. Remember that trees are a crop, and most forests in Europe are plantations. https://forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/16/england-tree-planting-increases-for-2022-23/ https://forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/16/england-tr...
- rob74 3y agoTrees are a crop, but the very slow growing sequoias are more of a status symbol (as the article also mentions). And not only in the UK, many parks, botanical gardens etc. all over Europe just have to have at least one sequoia...
- s1artibartfast 3y agobut the number quoted for the UK includes the costal redwood, which IS one of the most popular farmed woods.
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- indoordin0saur 3y agoThere have to be more than 80k in the US. Maybe they're just counting mature large trees? The groves are full of saplings and "teenagers".