Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) have an important role within the Sierra Nevada ecosystem and their majesty provides an aesthetic and cultural role within society. The trees afford visitors a glimpse at the largest living thing on the planet, including General Sherman, the largest tree on earth. Their natural distribution is limited to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in a narrow band of mixed conifer forests between 5,000-8,000 feet elevation. They are contained in 75 groves around the world. Today, there are about 36,000 acres of giant sequoias in the world, and they have been cultivated in Western and Southern Europe, the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Southwestern British Columbia, Southeast Australia, New Zealand, and Central Southern Chile. Still, 27,830 of those global acres lie in the tree’s natural habitat in the southwestern Sierra Nevada mountains.
Giant Sequoia trees have a long history dating back to the Mesozoic Period when their ancestors lived in much of the northern hemisphere. Soon after, more recent ancestors of the giant sequoia were pushed into the Southwestern United States due to changes in the climate. Today, the only native giant sequoia trees are found on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The first time these sequoia trees came into contact with humans was most likely with Native Americans who lived in North America thousands of years ago. These Native Americans preserved the sequoias mostly in their pristine state unlike the Europeans who followed them. After the Europeans discovered the giant sequoia in 1852, they logged them until they ended up destroying about a third of the total amount of sequoias. By 1890 though, preservation of the giant sequoias became important to many including the government. That year the Sequoia, General Grant, and Yosemite National Parks were created protecting many acres of giant sequoia trees. Because these giant sequoias have the potential to live for thousands of years, and many have, the historical state of the giant sequoia has not changed that drastically except for the reduction of acreage due to logging. Because of protection from National parks, the acreage of giant sequoias present in the Sierra Nevada today is likely to continue to thrive as long as human impact and traffic over them is limited.
