Masters Thesis

The adaptive strategy of coast redwood

An analysis of the stand-age profile of old-growth and second-growth stands of coast redwood indicates that there has been no significant change in the location of the inland edge of its distribution in Northern California within the past two hundred years. The inland limit is neither advancing nor receding. In natural stands all age classes of trees were well represented up to the inland edge of its distribution. Sufficient redwood regeneration was found where redwood had been harvested, with little beyond sites previously occupied by redwood. The ability of redwood to sprout is probably the most important factor in explaining why the distribution of redwood is not changing. Sprouting enables redwood to maintain dominance even under unfavorable environmental conditions for seedling development and also in cases where the stand has been harvested.

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