Two huge flames emanating from lightning destroyed up to 3,600 trees (File)
Los Angeles:
Wildfires that have ripped through California’s forests this year have killed thousands of giant sequoia trees, officials said Friday.
Two massive flames emanating from the lightning burned up to 3,600 trees, each measuring more than 4 feet (120 cm) in diameter, leaving them dead or expected to die within the next five years.
The figure represents 5% of the planet’s entire tree stock – the largest tree species by volume in the world – and comes after up to 14% of it was wiped out by fires a year ago. there.
Clay Jordan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Director, said: “The dire reality is that we have witnessed yet another massive loss in a finite population of these iconic trees that could not be. replaced for many lifetimes”.
California and other parts of the western United States have been ravaged by large, hot, fast-moving wildfires this year, driven by years of drought and a warming climate.
Scientists say human activity, including the uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to the warming of the planet.
General Sherman – the world’s largest tree – was wrapped in foil by firefighters to protect it from the flames spreading around the world.
The tree was 83 meters tall on the forest floor, unharmed.
The majestic giants are well adapted to fire, with thick shells that protect them from heat.
During their life cycle, which is measured in thousands of years, they often endure a lot of fire, the heat of which helps their cones open, allowing the particles to disperse.
But longer, hotter and more aggressive fires can damage them, sometimes beyond repair.
Two major fires this year tore through 27 groves of trees that are unique to the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Forest officials say the intensity of some of these fires is worrisome.
“Sequoias generally regrow well after wildfires, although reports of insufficient regeneration in areas of high severity are raising concern,” Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks said in a statement. report.
“Regeneration failure can occur if the cone and/or seed is incinerated… the seed fails to survive in the smoldering flame, or the seed is washed away by surface erosion.”
However, the report notes that this year’s fire season isn’t all bad news, with previous “regulatory burns” having had the effect of reducing the amount of fuel available for uncontrolled fires. .
Several forestry experts say decades of inability to endure fires have turned California’s forests laden with potential fuel into a giant trash can as it withers during a historic drought.
They say allowing some fires to burn through this excess vegetation, or deliberately setting fires in a controlled manner, will help reduce the intensity and destructive power of the fires.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
