the body language of Decay, The Delights of D

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

just trying to soak up the info first, i truly am at novice level and the more i listen and learn the better for me in the long run. I could try to muster an opinion on this matter but its either already been covered or to basic to warrant even a reply:lol:

 

I do enjoy reading your posts hama, please carry on i shall try to intervene and correspond more in the future!

 

I sometimes wonder if my unhinged mind is TOO unhinged for you lot!

 

Its a lonely world when theres noone to talk to about stuff that runs around in my head till im fit to burst!

 

I need to get over my fear of public speaking and take this to seminar level!

[RobArb]

i'd defo venture to one of those seminars:thumbup:

[Xerxses]

I sometimes wonder if my unhinged mind is TOO unhinged for you lot!

 

Its a lonely world when theres noone to talk to about stuff that runs around in my head till im fit to burst!

 

I need to get over my fear of public speaking and take this to seminar level!

 

It has been said before....

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

It has been said before....biggrin:

 

You my good friend are one of the main reasons Im going to "push ahead" on that front. Your constant little "hinting" so when i give my first seminar and they laugh me out of court i shall blame it all, yes ALL, on you!

 

I am going to look into some kind of workshop to get me to astage where I wont end up delivery a drab monotone speech stifled by fear!

[Xerxses]

Well I shall be there and defend you....!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Decay is part and parcel of the aged tree, old parts are no longer needed and sucsessive colonisations of fungi break down and recycle the now redundant parts, this has obvious advantages. A tree cannot move to a new location! if it has used all its local resources it can no longer maintain optimal growth. Fungi in their many forms and guises are a vital element of the trees life, without them life is impossible.

 

we all too often eliminate those trees that have come of age and now display what in our human perspectives are destructive mechanisms and represent risks to us, the risks are real, though rare. If we continue to eradicate those "rotten" by fungi on the premise of risks to us, we will in time eradicate a portion of the trees lifecycle that is often its longest stage of life. That alone should cause us to "re think" our perceptions of decay, we assume that rotten trees are going to fall at any moment, but if that was true how could this rotten age, be the longest age of trees? The ancient class of trees is probably one if not the most significant "eco systems" on earth.

 

Understanding decay intimately will enable us as practitioners to decide when a decay relationship is truly detrimental and when it is not, retention of habitat should take presidence, reduction/retrenchment is wholey acceptable, and should not be viewd as artificial, but merely as an imitation of fungal enterprises in a controlled and viable form.

 

One of the most feared of decay strategies is those that are involved in old tap root/dysfunctional roots those confined to the Rhizosphere and extend rarely into portions of the main stem above 1 metre. This group of fungi contain many species of basiomycetes, Inonotus dryadeus, rigidiporus ulmarius, ganodermataceas, perenniporia fraxinea and many many others.

 

These fungi have very different life styles and host preferences, often complicated by transfer to unexpected or unusual hosts. Rigidiporus ulmarius for example so named for its preference for ulmus hosts. Elms where once as dominant as oaks within our landscape, and now aesculus and poplar are the most common hosts. both these species have poor capacity to contain this fungus, and it should be treated with the utmost of caution in these hosts.

 

I have recently discovered Rigidiporus ulmarius on a horse chestnut that is worthy of inclusion here, and not quite as aggressive as I had assumed till finding this sample. in the images the blue indicates active "force-flows" the fast paced adaptive regions that are compensating for the decay of Rigidiporus ulmarius. The orange highlights the old core that is most likely colonised by the rigidiporus and now almost entirely dysfunctional.

 

What makes this sample so fascinating is that to all intents and purposes it appears to be (fruit body aside) to be conforming to normal axiom rules, according to the tensile triangle method devised by claus mattheck. What it reveals however in this case is rapid growth on the upper root surfaces to compensate the lower portions decay, and a clear and definitive illistration of now dysfunctional areas of stem by "bark sinks"

 

Other images included show what are common "languages" expressed by root decays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RobArb]

I thought the age od trees generally broke down into the rule of 3's whereby example say an oak lived to 900 years then it would spend 300 years growing, 300 years maturing and in full vigour and 300 years dying.. I know it is quite a general term and could be applied to most trees but is this not the case?

 

Trees, with man's intervention can carry on living (old pollards) like that Lime somewhere, i don't know where, thats reported to be nearly 2000 years old due to re-pollarding. Just wondered thats all as you state in the 2nd or 3rd paragraphs that the longest part of a tree's lifetime is that of decay.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

The ancient stage of trees can be many times the length and duration of their maturing, this is well documented, recorded and known, the 3rds rule is one of those black and white generalisations that simplify things for those that need it simplified or generalised.

[RobArb]

haha are you calling me simples:blushing: more reading needed me thinks:thumbup:

[czhey]

Very interesting thread... wish I could contribute something to it but alot of it goes over my head....

 

I have been reading 'The body language of trees' by Mattheck, so how do we distinguish 'normal body language' and 'the body language of decay'.

 

For example I found an oak with a slight lean the other day, bark clearly 'stretched' on the tension side and 'buckled' (if thats the right term) on the compression side. Is this a possible sign of decay or something you would expect to see on any leaning tree? A picture speaks a thousand words so i'll try and get photos for you....

 

 

 

Charlie.