Fewer than 120,000 acres, or 5 percent, of the original redwood forest remains today. It's a tragedy to have lost most of the ancient redwoods; however, science-based forest restoration holds the key to bringing back what we've lost.
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The development of chainsaws and tracked bulldozers in the 1930s led to the massive increase in the rate of logging of redwood trees. Acres of ancient redwoods could now be cut down in just days. It was the post World War II housing and economic boom caused the majority of old-growth redwoods to be clear cut.
Coast redwoods sometimes regenerate as seedlings but more often grow from sprouts, which start easily on lateral roots or from stumps or downed logs. Young redwoods grow quickly—two to six feet a year—so that a 20-year-old tree will often be 50 feet tall and about eight inches in diameter.
Many of the biggest specimens in the UK are found in Scotland, with fine examples growing in other National Trust for Scotland gardens, such as Geilston and Craigievar, as well as Holmwood. Because giant redwoods have grown in the UK for less than 200 years, it's not yet known what size they will ultimately reach here.
They Live for Thousands of YearsAlthough a redwoods' ability for a long lifespan contributed to its Latin name, Sequoia sempervirens—sempervirens means evergreen or everlasting” in Latin—most of the remaining redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains are “second-growth”, about 50-150 years old.
Approximately 300 trees will be planted in 2022, and 700 in both 2023 and 2024. Humboldt State University student volunteer Sara Bandali preps a seedling for planting. Photo by National Park Service.
Only on the Northern California coast-- Not one but three giant redwoods offer motorists the opportunity to steer their wheels through a living tree. All are right off US Highway 101, known as the Redwood Highway, within an hour or so drive of the historic seaport of Eureka.
Center Parcs Longleat Forest is home to the UK's tallest Giant Redwood tree. Officially confirmed by the Tree Register of the British Isles after being spotted by a tree-loving guest, the Giant Redwood measures up at 58m.
Giant Sequoias were introduced to Britain in 1860 and Elvaston Castle Country Park has 2 of the original specimens still going strong. Giant Sequoia in Elvaston Castle Country Park. Contributed by Dan Hartley of Derby in the UK.
However, four of the tallest trees in the UK are in Scotland, and all actually are growing in the same glen. Reelig Glen, near Inverness, is home to the UK's tallest tree, a Douglas Fir at a height of 217ft (66.4m).
Many, including Killerton, Sheffield Park, and Penrhyn Castle, are managed by the National Trust. Travelers can also see giant sequoias dating to the 1860s in southwest London at the Redwood Grove in the UNESCO-listed Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
As the climate changes, scientists predict that the range and character of redwood forests in the Santa Cruz mountains will change too. Some areas that have redwoods today could become too hot and dry to support them in the future.