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Emily Burns, PhD, League Director of Science, reaches for the captivating cream-colored needles of an albino sprout growing out of a redwood. “It lacks chlorophyll, so it’s white, and it’s caused by a mutation on that particular sprout’s DNA,” she said. Further genomic research could confirm hypotheses that albino sprouts are more than parasites. It’s clear that the deeper we go into the redwood genome, the more we’ll know. Photo by Paolo Vescia

Mapping the Redwood Genomes

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Save the Redwoods League is leading research to fully sequence the coast redwood and giant sequoia genomes — for the first time — utilizing conifer genetic sequencing techniques unavailable until now. By the end of this five-year project, the genome sequences and the screening tools developed will allow researchers to quickly assess genetic diversity in redwood forests to inform management plans that restore the health and resilience of these forests throughout their natural ranges as they face environmental stressors such as climate change.

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Giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove. Photo by garden beth, Flickr Creative Commons

Why are Christmas trees pointy on top?

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Christmas is coming and so like last year, I’m answering the question that arises when we sit around our decorated trees: Why are Christmas trees shaped the way they are, pointy on top and wide at the bottom?

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Photo courtesy Save the Redwoods League

Redwood Research Proposals Wanted

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Save the Redwoods League uses redwood science to guide our conservation work and we are ready to invest in new studies that will help us save the redwoods. Since 1997, we have supported redwood and giant sequoia forest research on … Continued

Happy Anniversary to Our State Tree

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Today marks the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the coast redwood as California’s state tree. In my opinion, no tree could better represent the golden state. For a little history on state symbols you have to go back to … Continued

A giant step for understanding redwood tree rings

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Today, Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative scientist, Allyson Carroll, shares her perspective on how she decodes the history of redwoods from tree rings. Imagine finishing a massive puzzle, one involving nearly half a million pieces and taking years to complete… it feels … Continued

Treetop Drought

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With the heatwave we are experiencing in California this week, it’s hard to not think about drought. All this dry weather, combined with below-average rainfall, must pose serious challenges for local trees. What’s amazing to me, is that the fantastically … Continued

View of the coast redwood canopy. Photo by Stephen Sillett

BioBlitz is Here!

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The time we have been preparing for during the past few months, BioBlitz 2014, is finally here! For the next two days you will find us at Muir Woods National Monument and the Crissy Field Center as we explore, learn, … Continued

Redwood Canopy – A Research Frontier

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Humans have walked through the redwood forest for millennia, but we first journeyed into the redwood canopy mere decades ago. Recent advances in climbing technology now enable canopy researchers to safely access the highest reaches of the redwood tree tops … Continued

View California’s Drought from Space

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The last 12 months in California have been the driest on record since weather records began in 1885.  NASA’s Earth Observatory recently showed us just how seriously the drought is impacting Californian vegetation statewide from the redwood forest to grassy … Continued

A Redwood of a Blog: How the Giant Trees Grow

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RCCI’s nursery experiments and tree ring analyses are essential to understanding the past and future of the redwood forest, but it is the trees themselves that tell us about its present. By establishing 16 large plots in old-growth forests throughout … Continued

Climate Change Discoveries Make Media Splash

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You may have heard about the surprising discoveries of the League’s Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative (RCCI) program, which drew unprecedented media coverage yesterday. Did you see the coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the … Continued

Like a Phoenix

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When a forest fire blazes, it seems like the path of destruction will result in irreversible change for the woods. Fire does indeed leave its mark among the redwoods, but I’m struck over and over again how quickly forests can … Continued

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