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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2: World's Biggest Tree

On February 20, General Grant stood in a nearby forest while a park ranger examined George Washington. After the examination, the ranger announced, “We don’t know if it’s dying or not.”

What does this mean? General Grant and George Washington are both large sequoia trees that grow in northern California. At one time George Washington had achieved the status of “world’s biggest tree.” At that time it rose to a height of 254 feet, and the circumference of its trunk exceeded 101 feet. Over time the dimensions of the sequoia named Washington have changed. In 2003 lightening and fire removed 20 feet from Washington’s crown and left the tree with a hollow core. In 2004 winter storms took off another 120 feet.

The towering evergreen, which is estimated to be 2,500 years old, now has only a token number of green branches. Still, park officials dismiss any suggestion that this ancient plant is near death. In response to inquiries from the media, the park officials offer this observation, “Sequoia time is so different from human time.”

Bill Tweed, a ranger at Sequoia and Kings national parks, has provided the media with two possible causes for the natural death of a sequoia tree. One possible cause is the tree’s shallow root system. The other possible cause is severe damage brought on by a large forest fire. Mr. Tweed thinks that fire will be the likely cause of death for the tree named after our first President.

When George Washington does die, General Grant will become the world’s biggest tree. Do not, however, think that Washington is sure to die within your lifetime. Tony Caprio, a fire ecologist, claims that a sequoia’s fibrous bark helps to insulate the tree and to protect it from fire damage. In addition, the wood of the sequoia is not composed of a substance that catches fire easily.

It may be several centuries before the General Grant can lay claim to being the world’s biggest living tree.

--Written by Sue Chehrenegar

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