Nature

Why no tree on Earth grows taller than about 130 metres

As a redwood grows taller, gravity and friction make it exponentially harder to pull water up from roots to its topmost leaves, which stay water-stressed even when the ground below is soaked. Modeling this hydraulic limit, researchers calculated that somewhere between 122 and 130 metres the effect gets severe enough that leaves simply can't expand further, capping how tall any tree can grow.

George W. Koch, Stephen C. Sillett, Gregory M. Jennings & Stephen D. Davis, The limits to tree height — Nature, vol. 428, 2004

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