If some sequoia trees can live to be 2000 years old, why is it that they have never been in a forest fire in 2000 years? Do they have some flame retardent properties or something?
2006-10-01 13:34:48 · 4 answers · asked by Jack 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
if a tree is big enough and its bark is thick enough it can survive most forest fires, unless it gets the misfortune of being at the dead center of a large fire that is hotter than most... but the water in the xylem and the rough texture of the bark on any good sized tree (not just sequoi trees) will usually protect them from the flames... the flames mostly get rid of the "carpet" growth like baby trees, ferns, ivy... whatever is "soft" and "thin"... you can watch a video of control fires being set at the toledo metro parks website that shows just the carpet being burnt and the large trees living for the most part
2006-10-01 14:01:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There have indeed been fires during that period of time; however, many trees are able to survive a fire. If you take a core sample from such trees, they will generally show evidence of a fire, such as a thin or absent area of bark for that year's ring, or a larger area of growth in subsequent years when competition for food is less after the killing of neighboring trees.
2006-10-02 00:46:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they have been in forest fires. i've seen sequoias that are all burnt and hollowed out on the inside b/c of forest fires. i guess b/c they're so big only the inside gets burned and the tree can keep on living.
2006-10-01 20:37:47 · answer #3 · answered by mighty_power7 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes the bark is flame resistant. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia
2006-10-01 20:41:44 · answer #4 · answered by rscanner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋