Comments
Warrangota t1_j6hk1gi wrote
> This is all very surface level
Just like the roots.
HemHaw t1_j6kng8h wrote
Heyoooooo
local_drunk t1_j6j3bik wrote
good grief, are you that dense?
Warrangota t1_j6o68p4 wrote
A very good question, /u/local_drunk
Ok-disaster2022 t1_j6gqm0k wrote
It may also depend on soil and ground conditions. If there's only a few meters of penetrable soil above a grant outcropping, it's going to have a hard time getting deep enough.
Chagrinnish t1_j6hacjp wrote
>Roots on the other hand typically want to be close enough to the surface to get water and nutrients in soft soil rather than less rich soil and harder rock below.
The roots need oxygen and do not grow where they cannot breathe. Any water or nutrients they find is just a bonus.
FusedForeskin t1_j6gvxva wrote
I thought they were ten feet deep, though?
nautilator44 t1_j6ivpdm wrote
"surface level". nice.
[deleted] t1_j6fuiqw wrote
[deleted]
DerisiveGibe t1_j6fybov wrote
To put that in perspective that's roughly a concrete slab that is 390' long x 390' wide and 4" thick.
murderouscow101 t1_j6g06md wrote
Sorry, still lost, what's that measurement in cheeseburgers by bald eagles?
OskaMeijer t1_j6gbitv wrote
I am not sure about that but it is 1.3 football fields by 1.3 football fields by 2 hummer driver's penises.
konami9407 t1_j6gviwr wrote
I didn't know concrete slabs could have negative thickness. TIL.
Chabubu t1_j6gaweb wrote
And also in ornamental gourdes for the vegetarians
a_weak_child t1_j6h0wgl wrote
African or European eagle?
murderouscow101 t1_j6h1j9k wrote
Neither. Bald eagles are exclusive to North America.
herbw t1_j6h9f86 wrote
The Notorious and common Spread Eagle spp. from what we hear... Esp. common in, near redwoods during summers.
Occ. but not often seen, are the 2 Bakt Beasts found. Their typical call is a long drawn out, low moaning sound. Our thanx to the Bard of Avon.
herbw t1_j6h98uy wrote
we can use a bit of yer tiny parts to measure those.
ChrisRuss86 t1_j6g214k wrote
Agreed. —> “Aside from logging, the most frequent cause of death for mature redwoods is windthrow. The reason for this is that redwoods have no taproot. The roots only go down 10 to 13 feet (3-4 m) deep before spreading outward 60 to 80 feet (20-27 m).”
allf8ed t1_j6glene wrote
Mariposa Grove has Giant Grizzly, a tree almost 3000 years old. When was there last September a Ranger said it survived that long because it grew on a hill and had to grow a very deep taproot.
On the other side of the path next to griz was a field of redwoods planted by people, but in a large depression in the ground. A violent windstorm blew for hours last year and blew over most if the human planted trees with shallow roots due to being planted in a well watered area. Pretty cool to see in person
GreatBigPig t1_j6gmb9z wrote
As nearby trees seem to be closer than 80 feet apart, wouldn't the roots entwine with other redwoods? Silly question, but I know little of trees.
Mbyrd420 t1_j6h3z6p wrote
Yes. But that's what trees do. There are numerous fungi that allow communication between trees, even if different species. And those same networks can transport nutrients all around a grove of trees.
MechanicalAxe t1_j6l85r6 wrote
Yes, the roots do most certainly entwine in a forest. For the most part, you can assume that most tree's root systems expand as wide are their limbs do.
While they are competing for sunlight and nutrients, they actually help eachother against being blown over by the roots pulling, and the limbs pushing against eachother.
dvdmaven t1_j6gaj3z wrote
Because of the shallow roots, some redwoods have been killed by people compacting the soil around them. Redwoods can grow in areas where there isn't much rain but lots of fog. The branches and needles condense the fog and it drips down around the tree. The wide, shallow roots absorb enough to keep the trees healthy.
herbw t1_j6h7bsc wrote
good points. The roots cannot send up enough water to fully water the coastal redwoods. That is done by fog condensing on their special leaves absorbing water by that means. but they do get lots of rain there far south as Sta. Cruz where the most southerly groves are.
Capillary action cannot supply water needs, alone to the redwoods. The same fogs come on shore in summer and it rains from the fog banks, tho.
Sea_no_evil t1_j6iyaec wrote
Limekiln State Park -- nearly 100 miles south of Santa Cruz -- has a stand of redwoods. AFAIK that is that is the most southern grove. A little further north, but still well south of Santa Cruz, the Big Sur river valley is famous for its redwoods.
dressageishard t1_j6joliu wrote
Limekiln is a lovely place to camp. The redwoods and the views are amazing.
herbw t1_j6k1k6b wrote
Thanks for the details. I been there yrs. ago. Again, yer a great asset of Geographic and Biological value. Looking forward to keepin the internet the greatest teaching tool ever created.
DistortoiseLP t1_j6fvlfa wrote
>Some visitors envision dinosaurs rumbling through these forests in bygone eras. It turns out that this is a perfectly natural thought.
Don't let me catch you having unnatural thoughts about dinosaurs.
herbw t1_j6h8vqm wrote
Not in cali, tho. IN the national park west of Pike's peak, called Florissant Fossil Beds, there are fossil remains of Sequoia leaves there and those were as old as dinos.
The Rocky Mtn. Orogeny was volcanic and likely due to subduction over the pacific plate there. Hard to realize that most of western US was not there 75 M yrs. ago. The Rockies may have been as high as 16-20K feet high peaks back then too.
There are some good geological guides to the Central Rockies.
itty53 t1_j6fuqth wrote
For how tall redwood is, it's incredibly light. That's how this works.
herbw t1_j6h942n wrote
well if you look at the giant sequoia trunks they have many, many buttresses which act to keep the tree upright.
Those are likely the most ancient widespread trees we know of which are still living , with large stands/groves in the Sierras.
itty53 t1_j6hrgvd wrote
I know. I'm from Yosemite.
herbw t1_j6kenmb wrote
yep my heart of hearts. Hope to get there once more before I die. Glacier pt. overlook, max merced river runoff peak. 3 of greatest waterfalls in Western hemisphere thundering down, 1000's tons /sec. water.
I fly around there often in my mind's eye. To the Right Half Dome. Over a bit, nevada falls. Down a bit, Vernal. Up high right, Illilouette. Across the valley, Yosemite thundering down 1600' in two drops. Blow yer away you stand too close. To left, Massive El Capitan vastest Granite formation known. Others.
Tetons, too, Yellowstone maybe, but hell close my eyes, I'm there visual, hearing, smells of pines, sounds of animals. I got a good visual memory.
artvandalayy t1_j6i572s wrote
Does it also work because these trees don't grow in isolation but instead are surrounded by neighbors of similar height? They all act as windbreaks for each other and allow each individual tree to need less root strength for support for when the wind picks up?
Snork_kitty t1_j6h4mg3 wrote
I love those trees in particular. They feel like beings, not just scenery.
Novaleah88 t1_j6hiikt wrote
They make a really big hole when they fall. As a kid my parents house had one of the last big ones inside city limits. They built a whole garden around it, with a neat fountain they built out of a big redwood root system next to is. When it fell it was lucky for everyone nearby because it managed to fall right down the middle of the road, luckily the house at the end across from a T intersection was set back from the road because it went into their yard too. I shoulda mentioned that the garden and tree were only about 4 feet from where my dad parked his little pickup. The truck was close enough that it tipped over into the hole and the neighbors came to watch. It only actually destroyed some fences and cars and minor damage to houses from branches. We were incredibly lucky and they shouldn’t be kept inside city limits. But it was pretty awesome as a kid to see that happen, and get to jump up the street on the giant rounds the fire fighters made before lugging it all away.
GuyTallman t1_j6j4r8t wrote
Redwoods intertwine their root systems with other trees and often share nutrients. It is how something like an albino redwood can exist even though it can't photosynthesize for itself. It also means that trees that are by themselves and not connected to others in a shared root structure are especially vulnerable the wind and erosion leading to them falling. There is a solo redwood in my neighborhood, it scares the shit out of me.
Scrotchety t1_j6goyz4 wrote
Even when they fall or are chopped down new sprouts (suckers) will rise out of them. They're a hardy bunch.
herbw t1_j6h749b wrote
400' are about the records, coastal redwoods. Giant redwoods the most massive living species tho the wood is not really alive.
even if they fall over, just enough of the roots are left living and those will often sprout in large rings of new saplings, thus replenishing the species. Except for Bristlecone pines, which are very rare, and live at freezin altitudes, thus their longevities bein in a natural freezer part of the year.
Kedosto t1_j6h0pg7 wrote
Redwoods also shed branches from incredible heights. Some of the branches can have very large diameters and come down from those incredible heights like gigantic lawn darts, piercing through roofs and spearing into cars and the ground.
Source: my garage roof on the east side of the property and the eave of my house on the west.
Upset_Advertising880 t1_j6jn2bb wrote
If you have never seen the redwoods it really is something to experience, they are so massive and pretty, there was one so big you could drive right through it at one point but I don't know if that's still a thing. I used to travel around the USA a lot until one of my bfs loads came to life, and they are one of the things I remember the fondest. Old faithful, the thing, where Kennedy was shot, ect most tourist spots are boring as hell, but driving though those woods 🪵 with someone I loved At the time listening to happy cheesy music is still one of my favorite memories.
Icyrow t1_j6k9o5i wrote
>bfs loads came to life,
that sorta makes your boyfriend sound like he reproduces via splitting and growing 2 seperate bodies lol
Upset_Advertising880 t1_j6kg6ws wrote
YOU WERENT THERE!
No, in reality, she burst forth from my stomach like one of those alien guys from the movie alien (with the help of some surgeons)
bluntasticboy t1_j6jnsqi wrote
I live in Eureka ca home of the redwoods and on thing they are leaving our is how wide they can get and when fallen over the root systems pull up a small house worth of dirt
Klutzy-Move-9557 t1_j6lfu7l wrote
I grew up in Ridgewood.
zachzsg t1_j6jq4xp wrote
Sequoias are absolutely massive in both width and height and look like something from LOTR, yet they have acorns the size of a pebble
bmack083 t1_j6hka9r wrote
Because - - fuck commas?
flaquito_ t1_j6i1zjx wrote
Technically they should be — (em dash) instead, but OP did use them correctly.
OccludedFug OP t1_j6i4q88 wrote
I always forget that they're called em dash, and I'm used to Word autocorrecting double dash to em dash.
flaquito_ t1_j6i4zfo wrote
Yeah, that is convenient. If you're on a PC, though, you can use Alt+0151 (on the numpad) to insert it directly.
finesoccershorts t1_j6iomd3 wrote
An excellent analogy for showcasing wealth.
UtahUtopia t1_j6kciwn wrote
And that’s why they intertwine with other redwood roots.
Stronger together.
dishonourableaccount t1_j6g3jgo wrote
Trees grow tall evolutionarily to outcompete neighbors for access to sunlight. It takes more energy to grow tall and distribute resources up a tree via passive means, than it would if a tree would grow laterally.
Roots on the other hand typically want to be close enough to the surface to get water and nutrients in soft soil rather than less rich soil and harder rock below.
This is all very surface level but that’s the gist of it.