Scientists in California have set up a unique experiment to track the life histories of some of the world’s oldest and tallest trees, according to a BBC article.
According to the article:

The project is designed to follow up research conducted in Yosemite National Park, which suggests that giant trees are perishing as a result of climate change.

An analysis of data collected over 60 years has led scientists from the University of Washington and the Yosemite Field Station of the US Geological Survey, to conclude that the density of large diameter trees fell by 24% between the 1930s and 1990s.

Trees in Yosemite National Park

Little research has been done on a long-term basis to monitor the lives of large trees. Unlike studies with smaller plants and almost all animals, no individual scientist is able to track a forest giant for its entire lifespan – from germination to death. They live for hundreds of years and play a vital role in the ecosystem long after they have died.

Large trees play a crucial role in the forest ecosystem. They provide a habitat for birds and insects while they are alive and also when they are dead. Crucially, they are resistant to fire and are seen as pivotal to a forest’s ability to recover from a major blaze.

Dr Lutz and his team have set up the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot to monitor the forest over a period of decades, and possibly centuries. It is a 25-hectare plot of dense woodland, comprising mainly Sugar Pine and White Fir trees. The area has not burned for at least 70 years.

The plan is to measure and map almost all of the trees, which are estimated to number about 30,000. The cut-off point is woody stems that are less than 1cm in diameter at chest height.

“We plan to come back every year to do a mortality assessment to evaluate all of the trees that have died and hopefully the reason they die,” says Dr Lutz.

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