In August 2020, wildfire burned almost the entire Big Basin Redwoods state park in California, scorching ancient redwood trees, some dating back more than 1,500 years and among the tallest living things on Earth.
Redwoods are naturally fire resistant thanks to their thick bark, but the wildfire was so intense and flames so high the trees’ foliage was destroyed, even in tree canopies more than 300ft high.
It was feared the redwoods would never recover, but a few months later something incredible happened – many of the trees began sprouting tiny leaf needles from blackened trunks and branches, and two years later the forest had turned green.
Much of this fresh growth sprouted from buds under the bark and also deep inside the trees, some buds having lain dormant for more than 1,000 years.
When researchers covered the sprouting buds to stop them photosynthesising, they still grew. The buds were tapping into stored sugars and radiocarbon dating revealed these sugars were stored for up to 21 years, with various stored carbohydrates nearly 60 years old. So, the resurrection of the redwoods relied on tapping into old stores of carbon to fuel their dormant buds into life.
