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Mycological Tree Assessment (MTA)


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Correct, one has to take the actual state of all the elements or the Gestalt of the tree species specific ecosytem of the tree, combined with the phase in the life cycle of the tree, into account using the concepts derived from general (eco)system and communication theory, as it is also applied to nuclear family or other human based and many other natural or artificial systems.

One could compare the MTA-method including both other elements with a holistic view on the health and condition of people or on organisations and/or on other types of organisms living together in close interdependend relationships.

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I like it, i like it a lot, another step closer to the dream, of a truly natural/holistic method of tree assessment, something i have been working towards myself though in a much less intelligent way!

 

This is such a natural progression/addition to C. Matthecks VTA method utilising the body language of trees.

 

this is the kind of development I meant when I said we live in exciting times in arboriculture, special things to come:thumbup1:

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One has to take the actual state of all the elements or the Gestalt of the tree species specific ecosytem of the tree, combined with the phase in the life cycle of the tree, into account using the concepts derived from general (eco)system and communication theory, as it is also applied to nuclear family or other human based and many other natural or artificial systems.

One could compare the MTA-method including both other elements with a holistic view on the health and condition of people or on organisations and/or on other types of organisms living together in close interdependend relationships.

 

I wasn't finished yet adding an example from ecosystem mycology.

As a generalistic ectomycorrhizal symbiont, Paxillus involutus accompanies both young trees (childhood, adolescence) and old trees, which slowly deteriorate (old age) and as a temporary in between strategy still has not lost its ability to live for some time as a saprotrophic decomposer of dead wood awaiting colonizing the roots of a new symbiotic tree partner.

In other words, it feeds from the breast or the bottle while the tree is still young and connects the old tree to a drip to keep it alive for as long as possible while meanwhile assisting with terminal care.

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the rollrim, so being so generalistic what can it tell us about the tree specific eco system apart from that mycorhizea are present? does it succeed anything or proceed? I have seen it in connection (touching side by side) boletes

 

Tony,

There's much more to be said of the "communication" by Paxillus involutus on the "state of the union" of trees and ectomycorrhizal macrofungi. If "middle aged" trees are accompanied by it, it often is a sign of acidification, changing the order of presence or absence of symbiotic macrofungi into dominance of acid tolerant species and disappearance of acid intolerant species. The Rollrim is then accompanied by Boletus badius, B. chrysenteron and/or Russula ochroleuca and on the thick layer of leaf or needle, twigs and fruits litter you will find Macrolepiota rachodes, Clitocybe nebularis, Collybia maculata and/or Lepista flaccida.

The presence of P. involutus in middle aged forests can also be a sign of overexposure to ammonia (NOy, NOx), which causes the disappearence of the mycelia of tree species specific symbionts, such as Russula and Lactarius species, Ramaria species and/or Hydnaceae and some to many other species, only replaced by a few nitrogen tolerant species equipped to help the forest survive for a while.

Dutch research on Cantharellus cibarius has proven, that its mycelium stops fruiting and dies if the soil acidity gets lower then Ph 4. So if it disappears in spruce forests, you know it is because of acidification of the soil (by the trees themselves). On the other hand, if it disappears in oak forests, it is a sign of succession moving on to the next stage and the taking over of other more or less tree species specific symbionts.

And adding to the temporarely saprotrophic surviving capacities of the generalistic ectomycorrhizal Rollrim, the same goes for the mycelia of Scleroderma citrinum and Thelephora terrestris.

So the "art" of reading the communication of ectomycorrhizal, saprotrophic and parasitic macrofungi and diagnosing the meaning of their presence or absence, is seeing all signs in a context of information provided by the total tree species specific ecosystem as part of a forest ecosystem consisting of the same and/or other tree species in different stages of their life cycles.

Every bit of space, even in our concrete cities, always tries to develop into a forest as its optimum. Seedlings of birch and alder pop up from the cracks in the pavement and if you don't clean your gutters regularely, a damp birch and alder "forest" will develop, taking down the gutter once it has gained too much weight and reviving on the ground as if nothing dramatic happened.

If we really want trees in our cities and at our roadsides, the space and circumstances a tree needs must not be subordinate to, but dominating our controlling and territorial drives.

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Last year I found the larch bolete for the first time fruiting under an old larch ive known for fifteen years, what does this tell me? it was a VERY prolific fruiting?

 

Depending on the condition of the tree and the succession phase of its ecosystem, it either means that something is wrong, f.i. the roots are attacked by Phaeolus schweinitzii, Sparassis crispa or Heterobasidion annosum, of which the body language signs of the bark indicate its arrival long before the mycelium starts fruiting, which triggers the Larch bolete to invest in panic fruiting, or the prolific fruiting is a sign of the "wealth" of the tree, which because of its rich reserves can afford to give that much energy to its symbiotic partner.

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Depending on the condition of the tree and the succession phase of its ecosystem, it either means that something is wrong, f.i. the roots are attacked by Phaeolus schweinitzii, Sparassis crispa or Heterobasidion annosum, of which the body language signs of the bark indicate its arrival long before the mycelium starts fruiting, which triggers the Larch bolete to invest in panic fruiting, or the prolific fruiting is a sign of the "wealth" of the tree, which because of its rich reserves can afford to give that much energy to its symbiotic partner.

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Phaeolus is a strong presence in the wood, with some heterobassidion here and there, this tree is a fine specimen and in rude health, so the latter maybe more appropriate.

 

So what do you think of this theory that mycorhizae are a defense system against root pathogens? as I do not see such evidence in the wild except for those situations of rude health and exuberant mycorizea fruitings.

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So what do you think of this theory that mycorhizae are a defense system against root pathogens? as I do not see such evidence in the wild except for those situations of rude health and exuberant mycorizea fruitings.

 

It's no theory, it's a well documented scientific fact. In producing species specific antibiotics and fungicides, with the species exclusively specialized on one or two tree species having the strongest "weapons", they are, and depending on the condition of the total tree species specific ecosystem (drought, poor or damaged soil food web by using heavy equipment, climate change, pollution, mechanically inflicted wounds on roots or trunk, etc.), they are more or less effective in the defense of the roots. And that is why loosing tree species specific symbionts and having to "live" on with less potent generalists, such as Paxillus involutus, is so detrimental to (the roots of) the tree.

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It's no theory, it's a well documented scientific fact. In producing species specific antibiotics and fungicides, with the species exclusively specialized on one or two tree species having the strongest "weapons", they are, and depending on the condition of the total tree species specific ecosystem (drought, poor or damaged soil food web by using heavy equipment, climate change, pollution, mechanically inflicted wounds on roots or trunk, etc.), they are more or less effective in the defense of the roots. And that is why loosing tree species specific symbionts and having to "live" on with less potent generalists, such as Paxillus involutus, is so detrimental to (the roots of) the tree.

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I understand, so tree specific mycos are the future, which is kinda what I was thinking, because the healthiest trees I see have tree specific mycos, to see a larch in rude health and of fine age in a woodland that is rife with root pathogens is evidence enough. So I would think the key to tree health and managment of the rhizpshpere should focus on maintenence of the balance best suited to the tree specific myco?

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I understand, so tree specific mycos are the future, which is kinda what I was thinking, because the healthiest trees I see have tree specific mycos, to see a larch in rude health and of fine age in a woodland that is rife with root pathogens is evidence enough. So I would think the key to tree health and managment of the rhizpshpere should focus on maintenence of the balance best suited to the tree specific myco?

 

Yes we should and without wanting to closely control the successive natural processes by implementing artificial or "alien" ingredients to their ecosystems, which are millions of years older then ours.

Thinking about the hundreds of thousands of years it took to develop the as far as biodiversity richest European tree species specific ecosystem of Quercus robur and being forced to monitoring how the Dutch farmers with their EU-subsidized mais fields used for "bio fuel" and "treated" with neo-nicotine, which kills our pollinating honey bees, succeed in destroying most of it within 10-15 years, I can not emphasize enough what going to any lengths parasites we have become of the - not our - natural environment.

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