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Project Noah Nature School
Thuja plicata
When this Western red cedar fell victim to a windstorm in 2006 it was over 600 years old. This means it was a seedling when settlers first set foot on North America's Eastern shores. As a mature tree, it weighed 36 tonnes & stored enough water to fill 100 bathtubs, which helped it survive summer droughts. Western red cedars produce a natural fungicide called thujaplicin which gives cedars their famous aroma & helps to wood resist decay. This cedar log will take several centuries to rot away - it will be home to many generations of wildlife & provide a rich nutrient base on which young trees & plants can root & grow. Almost all young evergreens in rainforests grow on decaying logs & stumps, so slowly rotting cedars play a key role in supporting forest regeneration. Text copied from information sign by the log.
Forest in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC.
Spotted on Mar 28, 2012
Submitted on Mar 29, 2012
10 Comments
It was too good a story not to share! :)
Thanks for including the information from the sign!
Thank you harsuame!
Meik, it would be good to document that! At the moment it seems to be mainly mosses & ferns but we saw many other stumps (from logging activity over 100 years ago before the area was protected) that had young cedar trees & many other plants growing from them. The center of this was completely hollow so I suspect it is already home to quite a few species of insect & other critters!
Great habitat for many other organisms! Would be nice to document its stepwise colonization by other species.
Grandioso!!!
Thank you Eva & arlanda!
nice Karen
Thank you for this nice description!
Thanks Cindy! I took a photo of the sign so I could share the info because for me it really described the whole process of decay & regeneration.
Wonderful description! Sad when these beauties fall but at least it wasn't cut down!