Persistent drought in the western United States, exacerbated by the global climate crisis, threatens its existence ancient sequoias giants, while recent forest fires have completely or partially burned much of the woodlands of these majestic trees in California’s forests.

Sequoias are plant organisms largest in the worldwith heights that can exceed 100 meters and a diameter of about 10. The oldest known specimen is 3,200 years old, calculated by counting its growth rings.

Ironically, fire is a crucial part of redwood reproduction as the heat encourages the release of seeds from the cones that contain them and the sprouts take root in the empty spaces released by the flames.

However, “the problem arises when, due to persistent droughtthe lengthening of the hot days and the reduction of the winter days, with the consequent decrease of the snow mass in the mountains, the forests become easy fodder for the flames “, explains Javier Sierra, spokesman for the environmental group Sierra Club.

Between 2015 and 2021, increased intensity of forest fires it wiped out more than 85% of the entire area of ​​redwoods in California’s Sierra Nevada, according to the National Park Service.

Currently, the Oak Fire, the largest of five active fires in the state, burns near Yosemite National Park and poses a risk to the redwoods in this reserve.

The fire, which began on July 22, devastated nearly 8,000 hectares and is a third contained, according to state authorities.

California, like most of the country, has lived through weeks of exceptionally high temperaturesand in recent years the state has been the scene of ever more widespread fires.

Faced with the threat, the US Forest Service announced last week an “emergency action” that will begin this summer and last until 2023 on more than 5,000 acres in 12 California redwood groves.

The idea is remove combustible materials and contemplates the pruning or felling of trees, application of chemical retardantsremoval of the superficial organic substance from the base of the sequoias and controlled combustion.

Of the 37 woods found in approximately 15,000 acres of national forest in Californiaall but five were burned in whole or in part in recent fires, e many monarchs – the largest sequoias – diedaccording to the Forest Service.

The agency explains that since 2015, the fires have caused “significant devastation to the redwood groves and destroyed nearly a fifth of all giant sequoias in the past two years.”

Fossil fuels, the threat

The Sierra Club welcomed the federal initiative in a statement, but its spokesperson noted this it is very difficult to protect any forest of the world in the current climate crisis circumstances, “especially in the American Southwest which suffers from chronic drought”.

“It is of paramount importance to protect America’s secular forests and all of humanity that the most important tool in the fight against the climate crisis is implemented: the drastic reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels45% by 2030 and fully by 2050, “Sierra said.

He said protecting mature trees “is the best opportunity to recover ancient forests, which we have already lost in the United States 95%“.

The expert said federal agencies need to evolve and become carbon management agencies“starting with the effective management of forests, such as redwoods, on federal land”.

“Forest climate policy is the missing piece of efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Of the global emissions caused by humans since 1870, 26% are due to deforestation and the degradation of the world’s forests,” he stressed.

Likewise, he indicated, “ancient and mature forests have the greatest potential for retain significant amounts of carbon and to recover the carbon we have emitted over the past 200 years “.

The “alien” ecstasy.

In addition to the importance of these trees in mitigating climate change, Sierra noted that “the wave of amazement, even ecstasy, that every nature lover receives when seeing redwoods for the first time. it is difficult to describe“.

“These wonders they look like aliens for its incredible volume and exquisite beauty. For many, entering a redwood forest is tantamount to entering a a natural cathedral that leaves the viewer marked for life, “he said.

Unfortunately, he warned, the sequoia’s habitat has shrunk significantly, especially over the past 150 years. “The world, we humans, have a responsibility to preserve these wonders for future generations,” she said.

“An indigenous proverb warns us that we do not own the world; we have only borrowed it from the next generation. To deprive them of redwoods would be an unforgivable sin“, he stressed.

ap