The tree once thought to be indestructible is in danger due to a plague of beetles and too many forest fires, the giant sequoia, the largest and longest-lived tree on the planet.
The tree once thought to be “indestructible” is dying because of the climate crisis
Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are the largest and longest-lived tree on the planet. Some reach or even exceed 90 meters in height and can live for 3,000 years.
These huge trees were thought to be immune to everything.
They withstood drought, insects and fire. Then the unthinkable happened: the sequoias began to die.
Scientists began to search for answers until they found the cause. According to a report published in The Guardian, the climate crisis has led to the appearance of small bark beetles.
Redwoods should be resistant to these insects, but the combination of long periods of drought and damage from increasingly frequent forest fires has reduced their immunity to the pests.
Naturally giant sequoias die after 3,000 years or so; older trees, known as monarchs, generally succumb to their own size and collapse.
Their giant trunks rest on the forest floor for another millennium. But the story of the nearly indestructible giant trees that is told is no longer true.
According to a study by the National Park Service and the U.S.
Geological Survey, to be published later this year, tiny bark beetles of the Scolytinae family, reinforced by the climate crisis, have begun killing giant sequoias.
The research highlights that 28 large redwoods have died from the pest since 2014.
The deadly combination is water stress from droughts coupled with fire damage that makes redwoods susceptible to insect infestations.
Insects that under normal conditions would withstand.
