Giant Sequoia Base with Fire Scar

by Roger Passman

Title

Giant Sequoia Base with Fire Scar

Artist

Roger Passman

Medium

Photograph - Photographic Prints/limited Edition Prints/licensing

Description

Giant sequoias require fire to reproduce. The fire cycle of 5 to 15 years opens the hard seeds of the pine cone while clearing out areas for seedlings to grow. Juvenile sequois grow tall quickly and in close knit groves. Mature trees like the one in this image push out rivals, shed their top and begin to grow in width after about 1,000 years of survival. This fire scar shows both how resistant to fire these trees are and the thickness of the soft, fiberous bark is. The bark at the ground is nearly 2 feet thick. Over time, the bark will surround this fire scar. The green moss-like plant growing on the tree are lichen related to lichen growing on nearby rocks.

Giant sequoias can live for over 3,000 years, outlasting all of their mixed conifer forest neighbors. What is it about giant sequoias that allows them to persist through millennia? Surprisingly, a major factor in in the longevity of giant sequoias is a chemical called tannin. The tannin, present in high concentrations in sequoia bark, gives the sequoia resistance to rot, boring insects, and fire.

The mid-sierra zone (5,000-8,000 ft) creates ideal conditions for giant sequoia growth. Mild winter and summer temperatures, deep winter snowpack, and a rich fire history have made it possible for the world's largest tree to get its biggest in these parks.
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A limited edition of 25 prints signed and numbered by the photographer are available directly from our studio. Sizes equivalent to any of the sizes offered as a print by demand through this online gallery are offered in this limited edition. These prints are only available directly from our studio gallery. Prints are delivered by US Mail rolled in a tube. For more information please contact me using the SEND PRIVATE MESSAGE option in the left sidebar of most of our online gallery pages.
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I processed the raw image file shot with a Canon 60D with an 28-105mm f 2.8 Tameron lens using Photomatix Pro 5, filters from Topaz Labs i

Uploaded

November 22nd, 2016

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