Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates
Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. Given the recent interest in planting...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230603 |
| _version_ | 1797263367743733760 |
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| author | Ross Holland Guilherme Castro Cecilia Chavana-Bryant Ron Levy Justin Moat Thomas Robson Tim Wilkinson Phil Wilkes Wanxin Yang Mathias Disney |
| author_facet | Ross Holland Guilherme Castro Cecilia Chavana-Bryant Ron Levy Justin Moat Thomas Robson Tim Wilkinson Phil Wilkes Wanxin Yang Mathias Disney |
| author_sort | Ross Holland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. Given the recent interest in planting more trees, partly due to their carbon sequestration potential and also their undoubted public appeal, an understanding of their growth capability is important. However, little is known about their growth and carbon uptake under UK conditions. Here, we focus on S. giganteum and use three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning to perform detailed structural measurements of 97 individuals at three sites covering a range of different conditions, to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) and annual biomass accumulation rates. We show that UK-grown S. giganteum can sequester carbon at a rate of 85 kg yr−1, varying with climate, management and age. We develop new UK-specific allometric models for S. giganteum that fit the observed AGB with r 2 > 0.93 and bias < 2% and can be used to estimate S. giganteum biomass more generally. This study provides the first estimate of the growth and carbon sequestration of UK open-grown S. giganteum and provides a baseline for estimating their longer-term carbon sequestration capacity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:11:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fead7ada2c8a4cc293a6be849000ce5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:11:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-fead7ada2c8a4cc293a6be849000ce5b2024-03-13T11:46:39ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032024-03-0111310.1098/rsos.230603Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth ratesRoss Holland0Guilherme Castro1Cecilia Chavana-Bryant2Ron Levy3Justin Moat4Thomas Robson5Tim Wilkinson6Phil Wilkes7Wanxin Yang8Mathias Disney9East Point Geo, Ashgrove House, Monument Park , Chalgrove OX44 7RW, UKRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew , Richmond TW9 3AE, UKEast Point Geo, Ashgrove House, Monument Park , Chalgrove OX44 7RW, UKIndependent Researcher , Rayleigh SS6 9HB, UKRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew , Richmond TW9 3AE, UKRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew , Richmond TW9 3AE, UKRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew , Richmond TW9 3AE, UKDepartment of Geography, University College London, Gower Street , London WC1E 6BT, UKDepartment of Geography, University College London, Gower Street , London WC1E 6BT, UKDepartment of Geography, University College London, Gower Street , London WC1E 6BT, UKGiant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. Given the recent interest in planting more trees, partly due to their carbon sequestration potential and also their undoubted public appeal, an understanding of their growth capability is important. However, little is known about their growth and carbon uptake under UK conditions. Here, we focus on S. giganteum and use three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning to perform detailed structural measurements of 97 individuals at three sites covering a range of different conditions, to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) and annual biomass accumulation rates. We show that UK-grown S. giganteum can sequester carbon at a rate of 85 kg yr−1, varying with climate, management and age. We develop new UK-specific allometric models for S. giganteum that fit the observed AGB with r 2 > 0.93 and bias < 2% and can be used to estimate S. giganteum biomass more generally. This study provides the first estimate of the growth and carbon sequestration of UK open-grown S. giganteum and provides a baseline for estimating their longer-term carbon sequestration capacity.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230603giant redwoodthree-dimensional structurecarbonlidarbiomass |
| spellingShingle | Ross Holland Guilherme Castro Cecilia Chavana-Bryant Ron Levy Justin Moat Thomas Robson Tim Wilkinson Phil Wilkes Wanxin Yang Mathias Disney Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates Royal Society Open Science giant redwood three-dimensional structure carbon lidar biomass |
| title | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| title_full | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| title_fullStr | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| title_short | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| title_sort | giant sequoia sequoiadendron giganteum in the uk carbon storage potential and growth rates |
| topic | giant redwood three-dimensional structure carbon lidar biomass |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230603 |
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