Spring Full of Surprises: Sequoias and Soil
An excerpt by James W. McFarland from yosemite.ca.us:
“Giant sequoias do not gradually die of old age. And yet, even to the casual observer, these ancient monarchs give visible evidence of their struggle for existence through the centuries. One of the characteristics is the frequent occurrence of dead tops. Most of these stag-headed crowns result from interruption of the water supply. This may be effected by partial destruction of the sapwood by fire near the base of the tree, since this portion functions as the channels through which water and minerals from the roots reach the needles, and an interruption of the conduction system may result in serious shortages. Practically all individuals with dead tops display large fire scars at their bases. “
A few things strike me about this description. To begin with SEQUOIAS DO NOT DIE OF OLD AGE. Incredible. In addition, they are fire-resistant, a large threat to most other vegetation in Central and Northern California. When people set out to build something massive, do we also make it immortal and indestructible….and astonishingly beautiful?
Secondly, they are testament to everything they have survived. They show wear and tear–they are not perfect. They loose a little off the top as they grow old. They display these scars with pride–in fact these fire scars come to eye level for all other living creatures. Nothing to hide here– it happened, and I made it through.
I had not seen these trees since I was possibly too young to feel the full force of their presence. Visiting General Sherman again was quite humbling.
There are hidden secrets everywhere. Even the tell-all Sequoia does not reveal its one weakness: a shallow root system. The National Park can put up as many signs as it wants, and yet visitors will continue to ignore both them and the fencing around these giants, trampling the tree’s life lines. As it turns out, there are rules for a reason.
I can tell my students over and over again to stay on trails, but this lust for individuality or adventure or some primal curiosity keeps many of them from listening. Just like any other authority figure, I have the choice to tell them the boring truth, the more exciting and stretched truth, insist that it is simply a rule without giving reason or I can choose the scare tactic. The boring truth: All life is interconnected! When you walk off the trail, you are potentially destroying a part of the ecosystem that could have effects beyond your understanding. The more exciting truth: You could get lost! Or hurt! Follow me, I know the right and safe way! The rule: No questions, this is the way we hike. The scare tactic: It is rattlesnake season, folks. Follow me or risk discovering one on your own.
Plurality explains that all of these reasons are right, just as all of them on their own are wrong. If nothing else, we can never hope to know the full scope of our physical impact on the environment (or the impressionable youth just discovering it). In Arches National Park, the signs stress the same behavior for very different reasons. Here, the soil itself is alive and the sparse desert vegetation relies on the cryptobiotic crust. A single human step on this fragile bit of earth can destroy life that might take up to 250 years to rebuild fully. And Moab doesn’t even have any common snakes.
Photo Credit: Kacy Pasterski
