tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post8639872656461923550..comments2023-05-22T11:50:08.654+01:00Comments on Postcards from K: Postcard from Wellingtonia AvenueKatharine D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17324719518391248689noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post-1424991455781814932009-01-01T20:08:00.000+00:002009-01-01T20:08:00.000+00:00We humans tend to have a short term view of things...We humans tend to have a short term view of things and forget things like California's breadbasket, the Central Valley, used to be an inland sea long before we lot were mucking about.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Ecologists will tell you that plant populations move up and down in elevation and north/south as the climate has warmed/cooled over millennia.<BR/><BR/>That doesn't mean we shouldn't monitor and take care. But it is to say that Occam normally prevails.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Happy new year.Timberatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09017106606021535783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post-13552846011299022342008-12-30T10:32:00.000+00:002008-12-30T10:32:00.000+00:003000?! OK, I've stopped worrying now. I guess yo...3000?! OK, I've stopped worrying now. I guess your specimens have had to cope with climate change over that period so maybe ours will survive. A little googling has told me there's another avenue of Wellingtonias slightly nearer to me, in Staffordshire. So I'm planning to visit them sometime this year and will let you know how those are doing.Katharine D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324719518391248689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post-24779801260387908312008-12-30T00:53:00.000+00:002008-12-30T00:53:00.000+00:00There are Sequoiadendron giganteum in the Sierra N...There are Sequoiadendron giganteum in the Sierra Nevada (their home range) that are over 3000 (yes, three thousand) years old. <BR/><BR/>The ones in Britain and the continent are out of their normal habitat, so it's difficult to say. The climates there tend to be wetter and cooler (at least the summers) than what SG is used to.<BR/><BR/>The guys I'd ask would be Drs Norm Pillsbury or Doug Piirto of California Polytechnic State University. I know them both and they're very approachable.Timberatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09017106606021535783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post-76114847693934316082008-12-29T20:22:00.000+00:002008-12-29T20:22:00.000+00:00They're about 140 years old now - is that nearing ...They're about 140 years old now - is that nearing the end of their life, or can they go on much longer?<BR/>KKatharine D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324719518391248689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837192374891123787.post-95202865595664752008-12-29T18:43:00.000+00:002008-12-29T18:43:00.000+00:00Hi K,See how the tops of the trees in the older ph...Hi K,<BR/><BR/>See how the tops of the trees in the older photographs are pointy? The recent photos show rounder tops and sparser foliage; they are taking on the characteristic and becoming old growth.<BR/><BR/>At this point the wood properties change too, with the wood becoming brittler.Timberatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09017106606021535783noreply@blogger.com