In continuation to my earlier blog about TREES, i was going deep into the subject. It has taken me into the jungle forest the Great Redwood Forest, California.  I just wanted to share the details what i enjoyed with my fellow hubbers also.  So, I am blogging this article.

Trees provide everything from fruit, cork, timber to energy. In particular, Redwood trees can grow to be the tallest trees on Earth. They can produce lumber, support jobs, safeguard clear waters, and provide refuge for countless forest species.

National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols is one of the world's foremost wildlife photographers. National Geographic sent Nichols to spend an entire year in California's redwood forest. His mission was to capture the majesty of some of the tallest trees on Earth, some of which date back before Christ. And if you've ever photographed in a forest, you'll understand the challenge this presented. There's no capturing the awe one feels before these monoliths that measure, in some cases, upward of 300 feet.
 

 The photograph(first shown in this article) appears as a huge foldout in the the October issue of National Geographic magazine, and is definitely worth reading. The magazine, with the help of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save The Redwoods League, also sent explorer-in-residence Mike Fay on a transect from the southernmost redwood in Big Sur to the northernmost tree near Oregon's Chetco River. It took him and his hiking partner, Lindsey Holm, more than a year of non-stop hiking to complete the trek of more than 2,000 miles.

Three species of trees are commonly referred to as redwoods: California's coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and China's dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).

Redwoods get their common name from their bark and heartwood, the reddish-brown color of which stems from high tannin levels. Other chemicals found in the leaves, branches and bark give these trees a remarkable resistance to fungal disease and insect infestation. Their thick bark holds large quantities of water, which protects them from periodic, naturally occurring fires.  

All three redwoods are descendents of a group of conifers (cone-bearing trees) that flourished more than 144 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. At that time, the Earth’s climate was warmer and more humid than it is today, so redwood species grew throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Over time and in response to an ever-changing environment, they retreated from most of their former range, and many once-abundant redwood species became extinct.  

 Successive ice ages, including the last one that ended about 10,000 years ago, have restricted the remaining redwood species to three small, distinct regions, each supporting one of the species. Each region is the only place in the world where you will find native populations of that species. 
Many scientists are concerned that rising temperatures and changes in weather patterns may further limit the range of redwood forests. The potential effects of climate change to determine how best to protect these awe-inspiring ecosystems are still under research. 

 "California revolutionized the world with the silicon chip," Mike Fay says, his voice deceptively soft. "They could do the same with forest management."