V.T.A symptoms "the chatty trees"

[RobArb]

you can just see over the edge of the cliff in the second to last pic, was a 30-40ft drop and this tree was right on the edge:biggrin:

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Will do. The majority of them are just rubbing but will tell the contractor to leave any welded branches as not to create unnessecary wounds.

 

rubbing branches can be strapped together till they weld too

[Treecreeper1961]

1 - No targets within falling zone. There are two paths that cross near the the tree but they are well out of the target zone.

 

2 - The cavity extends about 2 feet upwards and 6 inches down. I would estimate there to be about 8 inches of sound wood to the right of the wound and about 12 inches of sound wood to the left. We are planning on having it reduced by about 10% all over. It still has a very healthy crown so we dont want to take too much off.

 

The second tree we shall be having any crossing branches removed and any dead wood fracture pruned. The very lowest limb we will be having reduced by about 15% as it is a "sunseeker" so we dont want that one to fail as it would leave a big wound.

 

It is a pretty good size cavity then. Have you got any information about assessing cavities. I will attach a tR ratio explanation, it might be of interest.

 

The new BS3998 has highlighted the need to specify crown reduction accurately to remove any ambiguity for the operatives.

It is a mature tree so the less you can remove the better and if the targets are assessed as low then keep the reduction small.

However, the fact that the crown appears healthy and vigorous suggests there is or should be enough energy available to recover from a sympathetic reduction without too much damage to essential physiology or incurring stress that could lead to a succession of other effects.

There is always the option to do a staged reduction over a period of years if a greater reduction of sail area is desired.

 

Big wounds bad. 15% reduction better:thumbup1:

tR Ratio.pdf

[Matthew Arnold]

It is a pretty good size cavity then. Have you got any information about assessing cavities. I will attach a tR ratio explanation, it might be of interest.

 

The new BS3998 has highlighted the need to specify crown reduction accurately to remove any ambiguity for the operatives.

It is a mature tree so the less you can remove the better and if the targets are assessed as low then keep the reduction small.

However, the fact that the crown appears healthy and vigorous suggests there is or should be enough energy available to recover from a sympathetic reduction without too much damage to essential physiology or incurring stress that could lead to a succession of other effects.

There is always the option to do a staged reduction over a period of years if a greater reduction of sail area is desired.

 

Big wounds bad. 15% reduction better:thumbup1:

 

Will let my bosses know on monday who can let the TO know as it is in a conservation area and has TPO. It is in a sheltered spot from the prevailing winds. There was a large Beech on the school ground which had just been professional surveyed and was given the ok went into self destruct mode and removed all its branches then snapped at the very tight union. The council who own the site went health and safety crazy and wanted the remaining 6 metre trunk felling but i told them it would make a nice pollard so they just cleared the fallen material and will leave it for nature to take its course.

[Treecreeper1961]

Sounds nasty, who'd be a professional tree inspector?

It is a valuable tree, should really have a proper decay investigation before having a go at it in my opinion, the cost is the problem, and ongoing investigations etc.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Treecreeper1961

[Matthew Arnold]

Sounds nasty, who'd be a professional tree inspector?

It is a valuable tree, should really have a proper decay investigation before having a go at it in my opinion, the cost is the problem, and ongoing investigations etc.

 

It was a contractor who had a HND in Forestry and Arb and had very very recently done a 3 PTI cert and passed. He failed to spot the Kretz in the butresses and the basal flares and bracket lesions caused by Ganoderma australe that had been knocked off by the school children.

[sloth]

It was a contractor who had a HND in Forestry and Arb and had very very recently done a 3 PTI cert and passed. He failed to spot the Kretz in the butresses and the basal flares and bracket lesions caused by Ganoderma australe that had been knocked off by the school children.

 

Missing that, especially on a beech in school grounds is poor. Pti level should have noticed that, surely!

Ps. Was the australe confirmed?

[Matthew Arnold]

Missing that, especially on a beech in school grounds is poor. Pti level should have noticed that, surely!

Ps. Was the australe confirmed?

 

It was and by microscope on the school grounds too. We had a fungi and trees talk at the school too with the students learning environmental conservation. We showed them the basics of trees and different fungi and how trees react then showed the close ups, extreme close ups and then the microscopic shots to the second year students.

[sloth]

Sounds like a good day what age range, and how did they like it?

[Treecreeper1961]

It was a contractor who had a HND in Forestry and Arb and had very very recently done a 3 PTI cert and passed. He failed to spot the Kretz in the butresses and the basal flares and bracket lesions caused by Ganoderma australe that had been knocked off by the school children.

 

That is worrying, however, Kretz at the buttresses is not going to make it collapse like that and if the kids could reach the Ganoderma bracket, neither would that.

Sounded like a wind damage/compession fork failure??

The other thing that I was going to suggest, or offer for discussion, is whether pollarding a mature Beech i a school grounds is going to be a long term viable management option. Instigating a severe reduction on an old beech can often fail, if then you are left with a large deadwood monolith this could be a dubious option. Monoliths are great in the right place, it may provide education and interest but before long it will have to be reduced, and reduced. Create habitat to take habitat away? It's a tricky one.