Planet of the Trees
The tallest tree in the world is the redwood tree located in the state of California. They can grow to be over a hundred meters tall. But why are they so tall? And how tall can they grow?
Trees have two main opposing forces pulling them towards each other. First, trees need natural resources from the ground below them (water, nitrogen, phosphorus, etc). The shorter the tree is, the easier it is for those resources to reach the top of the tree. However, trees also need sunlight, and competition can be serious at times between neighboring trees. These trees, for example, found in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California have blocked so much sunlight that even if there is enough resources provided by the soil, another tree will not be able to grow.
To get as much sunlight to the leaves as possible, trees have the incentive to grow larger than their neighboring trees. Hence why they grow vertically. And if there is not a lot of competition, then they won’t grow as tall.
As one can imagine, there is a “Goldilocks Zone” for trees. They can’t just grow too tall, because then the leaves will be too far away from the ground and more energy will be wasted by trying to get the water up to the leaves than was gained by being closer to the sun.
As for the redwoods in California, we can say that they got lucky because the conditions they live in are good for their growth: steady/warm climate, nutrient-rich soil, healthy amount of rain, occasional fog (providing the leaves at the top with needed water, rather than having to get all of it from the soil), and of course, competition (it’s a forest down there!).
Sources:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-evolutionary-benefit-for-palm-trees-to-grow-so-tall
https://www.livescience.com/14667-tall-trees-grow.html
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-reason-why-trees-grow-so-tall
Photo Credit:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-evolutionary-benefit-for-palm-trees-to-grow-so-tall