You don't survive up to 2,000 years without learning a trick or two, and ancient redwoods in California have revealed one of theirs to researchers. Some of the trees that were thought to have been damaged beyond repair during 2020 wildfires in Big Basin Redwoods State Park are showing signs of life, and a new study in the journal Nature Plants explains how. It's a two-part feat, both of which involve calling upon remarkably old reserves. The trees tapped into stored-up energy—"sugars that had been made from sunlight decades earlier"—and used it to bring to life buds that had been buried under the bark for centuries, reports Science.
"This is one of those papers that challenges our previous knowledge on tree growth," says Adrian Rocha, a University of Notre Dame ecologist who wasn't involved in the study. "It is amazing to learn that carbon taken up decades ago can be used to sustain its growth into the future." Redwoods are naturally resistant to fires because of the properties of their thick bark—including flame-resistant tannic acids—but the 2020 wildfires were especially intense. The study raises hope that the trees can survive such events better than thought.
"Sugars photosynthesized perhaps 100 years ago were used to grow new leaves in 2021," says lead author Drew Peltier of Northern Arizona University in a release via Phys.org. "As far as we know, these are some of the oldest carbon reserves ever measured." One big unknown, however, is how thoroughly the trees have depleted their energy reserves. The answer to that may determine whether they would survive the next massive wildfire. And despite the optimism, Earth.com notes that many redwoods in the state park didn't live through the first one. (More redwoods stories.)
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