Grove of Titans

A man glancing up at Screaming Titans, one of the coastal redwood trees in the Grove of Titans

The Grove of Titans is a redwood grove in Del Norte County, Northern California, which includes several massive coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees, some of which are among the largest known redwoods in terms of wood volume. The largest coastal redwood tree in the grove by volume is the single-stem Del Norte Titan.[1] The Lost Monarch is comparably large, but a large sprout from the ground at its base is not part of the main trunk structure and volume. Del Norte Titan and Lost Monarch became approximately the fourth- and fifth-largest known coast redwoods, following some new 2014 discoveries, and remeasuring of other known coast redwoods.

Native Plant Damage and Donations

In 2016, M. D. Vaden, Certified Arborist, sent a $1000.00 donation to Redwood National and State Parks, earmarked for helping the Grove of Titans. [2]

Approximately 2011, someone from southern Oregon learned the location, then intentionally broadcast details about how they found it. Almost immediately, a surge of visitors followed, trampling hundreds of native plants. The $1000 contribution by M. D. Vaden was provided to help with the problem if the parks can develop an effective strategy (much of that gift came from other people). Additional donations from others may follow. Contributions for special gifts to Redwood National and State Parks[3] are handled by California Department of Parks and Recreation. [4]

The surge of boot traffic following the 2011 location leak triggered a series of problems:

• Uncontrolled and spreading damage to native plants
• Soil compaction
• More difficulty for scientists to acquire canopy study permits
• More strain on limited parks resources
• Increased erosion potential

History

The Grove of Titans (unofficially named) was discovered May 11, 1998, by Stephen Sillett, and naturalist Michael Taylor in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.[5] The discovery implies that Sillett and Taylor are the first to realize and declare the significance of the grove, not that they are the first ones to have seen the grove. The grove's botanical significance is near equal with Atlas Grove to the south.

Grove of Titans experienced significant damage to native plants between 2012 and 2016. Approximately 8000 sq.ft. of ferns, sorrel and other plants have been destroyed by visitors. The native plant damage is most evident around a redwood called Screaming Titans. In July 2016 the parks posted a sign which states up to 3300 sq. meters impacted, or about the size of 7 basketball courts combined. [6]

Flora

Names of the named largest redwoods in this grove include Lost Monarch, El Viejo del Norte, Screaming Titans, Eärendil and Elwing, Aragorn, Sacajawea, Aldebaran, Stalagmight and Del Norte Titan.

Several abundant understory plants are California sword fern – Polystichum munitum and Redwood sorrel – Oxalis oregana.

Location

The Grove of Titans is in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park of Northern California, south of Highway 199. The closest town is Crescent City, California. The location was described by author Richard Preston as "the bottom of a hidden notch-like valley near a glade." The exact location within the park has not been revealed in this book for fear that excessive traffic will damage the grove.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gymnosperm Database
  2. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_year_discovery.shtml
  3. ↑ https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.parks.ca.gov/
  5. ↑ Preston, Richard (2007). The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring. Allen Lane Publishers.
  6. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_screaming_titans.shtml

External links

Coordinates: 41°46′41″N 124°5′59″W / 41.77806°N 124.09972°W / 41.77806; -124.09972

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.