Ash down?

[Bosun]

Good afternoon,

 

Last Wednesday, on our Scout Campsite, we found a fallen Ash tree. It had snapped off like a carrot at ground level. The trunk is about 14inches dia and appears to be a good specimin. Most has now been logged-up (apart from the main trunk) and shows no apparent signs of ill health inside.

 

Any suggestions as to the cause? Is this common for Ash trees?

 

We will in due course call in an expert, as the tree fell into an area that can be used by campers. Clearly, our duty of care has to be recognised.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[mistahbenn]

Mother nature.

[Goaty]

Root plate rot, I dont know the specifics. It could be a tree that was once felled and regenerated a new trunk and subsequently is only rooted on one side and undermined by dead stump at the other. The local scout wood to me is the same and hardly has a decent mature tree due to this,

[Bosun]

Mmm....

 

Are there any obvious external signs of root plate rot? (before the inevitable)

 

Are Ash trees more prone to this, or should we be aware that other species may be at risk?

 

What is the likely cause/causes of root plate rot?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but the new camping season will soon be upon us, and we need to ensure (as far as is practically possible) that the site is safe.

[Peter]

Get someone who knows about trees to have a walk round the wood and identify any potential problem trees. This will fulfill your duty of care responsibility and is a basic minimum really to help prevent problems in the future. If you want to go a little further get a consultant to carry out an inspection and produce a written record of inspection with management recommendations.

 

Do be aware that either way you may have to carry out remedial works, if any kind if inspection produces a recommendation which you fail to act upon you will be worse off than if you had done nothing.

[Bosun]

Many thanks for your input.

 

Yes, we understand our obligation.

 

We had a comprehensive tree survey carried out in 2012, and have acted upon the recomendations.

 

Would a "tree survey" have found what seems to be "root plate rot", considering the fallen tree appears to be (to us), void of any abnormalities?

[treecreeper arb]

Id suggest that you ignore the Root plate rot comment.The root plate of a tree could become dysfunctional and or decayed for a plethora of reasons,and from your OP it is impossible for anyone to offer any sensible form of advice.

Even with photographs,it would be speculation.

Get someone who knows what they are looking at to check your trees out.

Even a thorough visual tree assessment will not guarantee the discovery of all abnormalities.

[sloth]

Good afternoon,

 

Last Wednesday, on our Scout Campsite, we found a fallen Ash tree. It had snapped off like a carrot at ground level. The trunk is about 14inches dia and appears to be a good specimin. Most has now been logged-up (apart from the main trunk) and shows no apparent signs of ill health inside.

 

Any suggestions as to the cause? Is this common for Ash trees?

 

We will in due course call in an expert, as the tree fell into an area that can be used by campers. Clearly, our duty of care has to be recognised.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

PM sent, Mr Bosun

[treeseer]

Was the tree's condition noted in 2012? "like a carrot" doesn't give a lot to go on. Pictures of course would help.

[Bosun]

Why 2012? Are you are considering Ash dieback? I thought that occured from the top down. The condition has always looked fine, at least to an untrained eye.

 

When I say "snapped off like a carrot", I mean it failed cleanly at ground level leaving the roots still buried.

 

I'll have a closer look at the point of failure this week, when we've had an opportunity to drag the trunk from the undergrowth.