Redwoods Assessment Open Sci Ed 8.4

Redwoods Assessment

Your class will discuss the information about coast redwoods that is summarized on the following slides. You might choose to jot some notes while you participate in the discussion. Consider these questions

What factors might affect how tall a coast redwood tree can grow?

What do you notice about the height of the trees in the two specific areas on the maps?

​These maps show the heights of the redwood trees in two different areas of about 62 acres each. Both maps show old-growth areas where the trees are more than 100 years old and do not get much taller each year.

Coast Redwood Trees

​Coast redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world. They grow only along the coast in California and Oregon. These redwood trees thrive there because of the very specific environmental conditions that support their survival, including moderate temperatures, abundant rain, and summer fog.

Characteristics of Coast Redwood Trees

​Characteristics	​Information about Coast Redwood Trees
​Range	​
Avg Height​	​200 to 240 feet (60-70 m) tall, some around 350 feet tall (100 m)
Lifespan​	​800 to 1,500 years, some live up to 2,000 years
Genetic Information​	​Almost the largest set of genetic information cataloged by scientists, coast redwoods contain 9 times the genetic information a human has.

​How redwoods grow so tall is something scientists are still trying to figure out. In the Humboldt Redwoods State Park in California, scientists examined how tall the coast redwood trees are in different areas of the park to try to understand why some trees were taller in some areas of the park than in other areas of the park.

LiDar Maps

They used a technology called LiDAR that allowed them to use laser sensors from the sky to measure the height of the trees off the ground. When they used this technology in the park, they created maps showing the heights of the trees. The maps below show the heights of the redwood trees in two different areas of about 62 acres each. Both maps show old-growth areas where the trees are more than 100 years old and do not get much taller each year.

Tree Heights Graph

This graph shows the tree heights measured in these mapped areas plus additional surrounding areas, for a total of 2,683 acres of redwood forest in and around the state park:

Pt 2 - Your Turn

Use the data from this study and what you have figured out in the unit about how genetic and environmental traits affect organisms to explain: How does this study mapping the heights of coast redwood trees help us understand what factors might affect how they grow so tall? Respond to the prompts below to construct your explanation.

Open Ended

a. Explain how environmental factors could influence the height of the redwood trees. In your explanation, include rationale for why you think environmental factors do or do not influence height of the trees.

Open Ended

b. Explain how genetic factors could also influence the height of the redwood trees. In your explanation, include rationale for why you think genetic factors do or do not influence height of the trees.

Open Ended

c. In the Bull Creek area, the tallest redwood trees are clustered together. Also, the histogram shows there are more supertall trees there than in the creek valley area. Explain how the ways that coast redwood trees reproduce could cause these patterns in the data.