Robert Diaz. Peninsula 360 Press.
There are not few enigmas that throw us these trees whose existence on Earth is estimated between 2 000 and 3 000 years, in addition to reaching more than 100 m in height, the sequoia - Sequoia sempervirens or California redwood - the tallest sequoia known, called Hyperion and measures 115 m was discovered in 2006.
The oldest redwood has been calculated to be 3,200 years old; despite this, it is not the oldest tree on Earth, as it is known that, in the Swedish province of Dalarna, there is a spruce (Picea abies) about 9,550 years old; that is, it is a tree that dates back to the Ice Age.
A technique called "dendrochronology" can tell the age of trees, and consists of studying the environmental changes of their past by analyzing the annual growth rings of the trees. In the case of the redwoods, it is believed that their longevity is based on a compartmentalized vascular system, which allows that while some parts of the tree die, the others can remain healthy and alive.
Redwoods live at high altitudes, withstand the most dizzying changes in climate without losing size or strength. One of the most voluminous redwoods there is "the president"; there is a larger one than this, "General Sherman"; it has been proven that, despite its size, they continue to grow and it is estimated that "the president" has approximately two million leaves. They grow tall and develop wide canopies because that guarantees them more sunlight and rain than the others.
Because of their enormous size, they have imposed themselves on their environment. The tannic acids and other chemical substances that bathe the heartwood and the bark prevent the proliferation of fungi in their trunks that can make them sick. Their thick bark is fireproof, that is, they are resistant to heat and fire. In fact, fires benefit them, as they kill their competitors. Despite the fact that heat can affect the oldest specimens, due to their strength they have been able to maintain themselves for millennia and continue to grow.
At the end of the 19th century many sequoias were cut, but their brittle wood made the trunks break when they fell to the ground, making the enormous work between cutting them and then moving the broken wood unprofitable.
Recent research shows that, contrary to what was thought, the older the tree, the less wood it produced. Redwoods undergo a different process: the older they get, the more wood they produce in their trunks and, therefore, the more branches they produce.
Researcher Steve Sillett and his team took on the task of scaling the "president" in an unprecedented investigation. The study was part of a more ambitious project called the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative. They measured the trunk at different heights, its branches, the node. And with a sterilized drill, they took a sample. Then, they analyzed the figures of their measurements and that led them to conclude that the "president" has 1,530 cubic meters of wood and bark. And that its age, mind you, is approximately 3,200 years old. In addition, it retains a healthy oxygenation despite its age.
Sillet stated in an interview for National Geographic that: "After half an hour, the top of the ?president? was reached at 60 meters high. I saw up close the big knots, the smooth, purplish bark of the smaller branches. Everything around me was a living tree. I looked up, giddy, and saw the fine cracks in the dry wood and the cambium channels that ran between the trunk and the branches like a river of life. A wonderful place, I thought, and I added: a wonderful creature.
