Pollards, the forgotten art-discussion

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Im thinking its time i took this further, thread i mean! so as i was saying IMO fungi assist a tree into imortality or at the very least a very substantialy prolonged life, due to the mode of decay and its staged take down (retrenchment effect)

 

This opinion is also shared by others far greater than I, Alan Rayner, Ted Green and Neville fay to name those i know of, there may be others.

 

There are several fungal relationships that i feel display this complex co evolutionary flow in our every day working lives these are-

 

I. hispidus and fraxinus excelsior

 

Quercus robur and F. hepatica/L. sulphureus in combination

 

(I may at a later date even add Inonotus dryadeus/Grifola into the robur equation)

 

See a piece by Andrew Cowen for grifola and quercus

 

and Auricularia messenterica on fagus sylvatica

 

 

These relationships are, with an inclusional mind very interesting to study, and whilst many see the demons of D (death, decay and dysfunction- Shigo/Hepting/sharon) Those men of imagination and of an inclusional way of thinking, Ted etc, see something far more interesting.

 

I know this idea that some of the principal decay fungi are actualy benificial to the tree in the long term is hard to grasp, to deal with there is an established frame of mind that decay via these fungi is to all intents and purposes, the begining of the end, the truth is it is far far and away not the case.

 

if anything, it is the very begining of the longest stage in a trees life, its time to review our thinking on the whole fungi/tree relationships and find ways of using what we can learn from the oldest survivors of the old regimes from a time when arboriculture was not even thought of.

 

If you still have doubts, do you not find it strange that very few "maidens" exist from such a time? It is those very harsh and seemingly brutal techniques that also assited in the trees longevity, by removing those parts that became overloaded and could potentialy tear thier important main stem to piesces.

 

Fungi do what we did, they pollarded and retrenched trees, we did it also and together man and fungi have created what is for me, the finest arboricultural wonders of the world- "The veteran Pollards" of our great parks and rural areas.

 

from my ramblings above i can see two questions coming (there will be others!)

 

" so if fungi retrench/pollard trees, why should we intervine?"

 

"so how do the fungi asssist a tree by retrenchment?"

I am going to elaborate, but first just enjoy these images, they are pollards, true they are at first glance "in a bit of a state" due to decay and dysfunction but....

They are still here, they was there when henry the 8th sat on his throne and had ships built by the hundred. it is said that those of bradgate deer park where "beheaded" in respect for lady jane grey when she was sent to the guilotine. These trees, they are survivors of a time that is ancient history, they was brutaly managed, topped, pollarded and generaly set about with an axe with no regard to etiquette or Shigos "demons of d"

and yet, there they are, home to thousands of life forms, and bearing the fruits of fungi for hundreds of years, a thousand years of service to man, biology and now to science and ironicly, to the birth of "inclusional arboriculture" call it arbor ecology if you will, its all good.

[sean]

Do you think we should intervene now.....to prolong their life.? Should we reduce the weighted scaffolds or let nature take its course.

 

Heres some from Richmond

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

What i think sean is that we should be trying HARD to evaluate each ones needs NOW, because they are the last of thier kind, they will be no more if they dissapear, imagine the loss say 100 years from now?

 

What would be left of them to inspire, tech and develope the ideas of the next genaration of arb mycotas/inclusional arbs?

 

We need to discover ways of incorperating rhizo technologies/biologies and utilise the trees inherant ability to produce undifferentiated merristematic tissue to take these on to another 100 years, and we need to do it now.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I also think that we need to genarate a new line of BIG pollards now, not tommorow, not next week, NOW.

 

Those proscesses that occur through pollarding, they need to be done now, so that there is no "break" in the cycles of many of the organisms that have come to thrive on this technique.

 

a loss of genetic diversity is to be avoided at ALL costs. A diverse community is a healthy community, a mono culture, well, we have already seen the results of that mindset.

[David Humphries]

Not venerable old beasts, but a few young vets still being worked in Norfolk.

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Nice, what is it about pollards?

 

is it the decay?

 

the habitat?

 

the form?

 

all three and then some?

 

Love them

[David Humphries]

I think it's the unquantifiable timespan of mans hand on a tree.

 

 

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

what really makes me think is that now, a tree could have been worked by axe, then hand saw, then petrol powered chainsaw, and now we move into NmH powered electric saws! and they are still there!

 

But for me the true majesty is in their communications, thier "chatty" nature as Claus would say, and who could argue with him about that?

 

If staverton was not the loudest wood ive ever visited!

[David Humphries]

 

If staverton was not the loudest wood ive ever visited!

 

 

 

That's because "you" kept whooping at the top of ya voice at each new discovery round every corner

 

No wonder the Deer were scared !

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Edited August 18, 2010 by Monkey-D

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

David the deer were scared cos a silver back was in the woods! lmao

 

Hamadryads dont spook deer, and i thought we was there for fung and trees!

 

you should have said old man, I would have curbed my enthusiasm:blushing: