Get to Know About the Biodiversity in Redwood National Park Beyond the World's Tallest Trees

The Redwood National park, along with the Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, and Prairie Creek Redwood parks, is part of the Redwood National and State Parks system.

It was established in 1968 to save the redwood tree population.

Here are 10 notable things about Redwood National Park.

Trees that Fight Climate Change

Coastal redwoods are fast-growing trees that can live for thousands of years. This allows the tree species to store more than twice as much carbon as Pacific Northwest conifers or Australia eucalyptus.

Coastal redwood forests store more carbon dioxide than any other forest on the planet, according to a study published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

This equates to approximately 2,600 metric tons of carbon per hectare.

Down to 90%

By the 1960s, large-scale industrial logging had decimated nearly 90% of the original redwood forests, particularly in privately owned areas.

The post-World War II economic boom, combined with rapidly improving technology, allowed trees to be logged faster and for less money.

To move more lumber to mills with more advanced transportation, the logging industry began using locomotives instead of oxen or horses.

Designated Heritage Site

The United Nations works to protect old-growth redwood forests alongside organizations such as the Save the Redwoods League, the Sierra Club, the National Park Service, and the National Geographic Society.

Since 1980, the Redwood National and State Parks have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to protect the ancient trees in the park as well as the marine, intertidal, and freshwater flora and fauna.

37 miles of Coastline

Although Redwood National Park is best known for its forests, it also contains major rivers, open prairie lands, and 37 miles of California coastline.

There are at least 70 miles of hiking trails within this coastal ecosystem, which allows visitors to experience a different type of landscape within the park.

This includes sandy beaches, thriving tidepools, and the rocky bluffs of the Pacific Ocean.

Diverse Ecosystem at Coastline

Because of the high ocean productivity along the Pacific Northwest coast, the tidepools found along the shores of Redwood National Park are a habitat for a diverse range of invertebrates.

Upwelling currents help bring nutrient-rich water closer to the surface. This acts as a natural fertilizer, especially in the early summer and spring.

These nutrients are necessary for the growth of algae and phytoplankton, supporting productive marine ecosystems and forming the foundation of the marine food chain.

Threatened, Endangered, Candidate

There are an estimated 28 threatened, endangered, or candidate species in Redwood National Park and its sister state parks.

Two plants, six fish, two invertebrates, four sea turtles, six birds, seven marine mammals, and one land mammal species are among the species.

Even though all of these animals have suitable habitats within the park, only eight species, including the western snowy plover, Steller sea lion, and northern spotted owl, have been regularly seen.

Endangered Coho Salmon

Before the park was established, logging operations harmed not only the forests, but also the creeks, streams, and rivers.

Wildlife, such as the endangered Coho salmon, struggled with inferior water quality and contaminated streambeds due to the riparian areas and unhealthy watershed.

Salmon populations in Redwood Creek peaked in the hundreds of thousands in the 1940s, but by the early 1990s, they had dropped to around 50%.

Restoration Program

In 2020, the National Park Service, the Save the Redwoods League, and California State Parks launched Redwoods Rising, a large-scale rehabilitation partnership to improve and replace six miles of former logging roads and stream crossings.

The restoration project also seeks to restore over 70,000 acres of coastal redwood forests in areas of the park most severely affected by commercial logging over the next decades.

Also Read: After Over a Century, Critically Endangered California Condors Finally Returns to Redwood 

Prescribed Fires for Landscaping

Native American tribes used controlled fires to clear brush and encourage new growth within the land long ago.

The area is now Redwood National Park.

However, with the arrival of Euro-Americans, the landscape was subjected to a century of fire suppression, which harmed prairies, old-growth forests, and oak woodlands.

Today, park resource managers are reintroducing the practice to restore native plant diversity, combat invasive plant species, and reduce fire-resistant species.

Rhododendron and Lupine Blooms

Redwood National Park blooms with wildflowers yearly in the summer and spring.

Rather than seeing the redwood trees, many visitors come to the park solely to catch a glimpse of the rhododendron and lupine blooms.

Aside from those two species, the park blooms with California forget-me-nots, poppies, buttercups, and a variety of other flowers as early as February, Treehugger noted.

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