A Raindrop A Day Keeps the Doctor Away...Alright, so Perhaps a Few More Than One...

          Coast redwoods are autotrophic organisms, meaning they utilize inorganic materials as a source of nutrients, and photosynthesis as a source of energy. Young coast redwoods can use sunlight so efficiently that they can even grow in intense shade. Coast redwoods are adapted to both medium and coarse textured soils. Still, limits of redwood forests are sometimes determined by soil types. For example, redwoods do not grow on soils with high levels of magnesium and sodium. This is one reason why redwoods normally do not grow on hillsides facing the ocean. The coast redwood, like all conifers, contains vascular tissue. It is comprised of phloem, which transports sugars, and xylem, which conveys water and dissolved minerals  continuously from the roots, all the way up to the leaves. Think of all the gravity and friction the trees must overcome! This process is powered by the leaves’ diffusion of water into the atmosphere and molecular bonds between water that drag it up the sapwood. During the dry summers, the coast redwoods can use the heavy fogs for moisture. These fogs are thought to provide between 30% and 40% of the redwood’s water supply. Also, scientists think that redwoods take in much of their water right from the air through their needles and through canopy roots which the trees sprout on their branches.

 

If you thought Nutrition was interesting, continue on to learn about the various ways of Reproduction in the coast redwoods. 

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