Leaf to Landscape Project
onAfter the fourth consecutive year of severe drought in California, a team of scientists came together in the summer of 2015 to study the impacts of the historic drought on the world’s largest trees, the giant sequoias.
Future Coastal Climate Not Cool for Redwood Forests
onIn a study published in the research journal Global Change Biology, climate scientists from the University of California and NatureServe conclude that a warmer future with normal rainfall on California’s coast will leave coast redwoods south of San Francisco Bay with significantly different climate than they have experienced for decades.
Lower Genetic Diversity Puts Giants at Risk
onRecent League-funded research by Richard Dodd, an Environmental Science Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, confirms that northern groves (north of the Kings River drainage) have lower genetic diversity than central and southern groves. This could have profound consequences for long-term conservation strategies for the species, especially considering the changing global climate. Learn more about this research.
Researchers Probe Drought Impacts on the Redwoods
onIs California’s severe drought affecting the redwood forest? If so, to what extent? To find the answers to these questions, the League’s Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative (RCCI) scientists climbed high into the canopy.
Wells Fargo Supports Our Redwoods Research
onStephanie Rico feels fortunate to live among the redwoods in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of her favorite things is standing in a circle of redwood trees at a nearby park with her son. “I look up and feel humbled,” said the Wells Fargo Vice President of Environmental Affairs. Troubled by how climate change will affect our lives, Rico wants to motivate more people to work toward solutions. Learn more about Wells Fargo’s support of the redwoods.
Chemicals in Redwood Rings Indicate Past Water Uptake
onIt’s no coincidence that redwoods live in the thickest part of “California’s fog belt.” The presence of coastal summer fog has long been regarded a necessary ingredient for the health and perpetuation of coast redwood ecosystems. During drier summer months fog supplies trees with moisture and blocks the evaporating rays of direct sunlight, reducing the amount of water that redwoods lose via transpiration. What’s less understood, however, is exactly how fog frequency has varied in the past century and how redwoods have responded to this variation. Learn more about this research.
