Nothofagus - Ganoderma opinions

[Brett]

One of my clients has 3 large multi stemed Nothofagus, due to the high winds we had up here recently, one is now horazontallis and another has lost 2 main stems. On inspection all 3 have Ganoderma brackets on them, the one with the failed stems has revealed extensive rot in the butt. The client is keen to not lose the undamaged tree and the remaining stems of the other. I have suggested reducing the height to reduce sail effect and damage to surrounding trees in event of failure.

 

What would your suggestions be? how long can these trees survive with the infection?

 

Cheers

 

Brett

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

sounds like a typical old age situation, made all the worse by being multi stemmed, G. australe is the most likely culprit and if these trees are to be retasined in the long term they will have to be brought into a much smaller frame, to cope with the continuosly developing decay within the unions and major roots.

 

without seeing the trees its impossible to give any worthwhile opinion but I hope this was usefull.

[Brett]

sounds like a typical old age situation, made all the worse by being multi stemmed, G. australe is the most likely culprit and if these trees are to be retasined in the long term they will have to be brought into a much smaller frame, to cope with the continuosly developing decay within the unions and major roots.

 

without seeing the trees its impossible to give any worthwhile opinion but I hope this was usefull.

 

Thank you, very usefull. bang on, old trees, multi stemmed. I assumed Applanatum but mainly a guess. the client is very keen to keep them for as long as possible and we already agreed to reduce them but think I may remove more than I was planning. there is no targets of exceptional value so if they fail they fail.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thank you, very usefull. bang on, old trees, multi stemmed. I assumed Applanatum but mainly a guess. the client is very keen to keep them for as long as possible and we already agreed to reduce them but think I may remove more than I was planning. there is no targets of exceptional value so if they fail they fail.

 

if you do reduce these bare in mind that you want to encourage growth as close to the decay as possible (carbs where they are needed most) and that it is wieght rather than foliage you want to reduce. Its better to take one big drop crotch cut fromt he hieght than lots of smaller defoliating cuts all over.

[Fungus]

if you do reduce these bare in mind that you want to encourage growth as close to the decay as possible (carbs where they are needed most) and that it is weight rather than foliage you want to reduce. Its better to take one big drop crotch cut fromt he height than lots of smaller defoliating cuts all over.

 

Brett,

Also bare in mind, that Nothofagus, being a non-indigenous tree species and a partner of ectomycorrhizal macrofungi, in Europe depends on a much smaller spectrum of ectomycorrhizal symbionts, then the tree species specific ecosystem originally can rely on. So reducing them could also trigger panic fruiting of the few symbionts they have associated with their roots, which could on top of the reaction of the mycelium of the Ganoderma further mean a drain of the energy the trees so desperately need for their own survival.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Brett,

Also bare in mind, that Nothofagus, being a non-indigenous tree species and a partner of ectomycorrhizal macrofungi, in Europe depends on a much smaller spectrum of ectomycorrhizal symbionts, then the tree species specific ecosystem originally can rely on. So reducing them could also trigger panic fruiting of the few symbionts they have associated with their roots, which could on top of the reaction of the mycelium of the Ganoderma further mean a drain of the energy the trees so desperately need for their own survival.

 

but if we do nothing the inevitable is loss of the tree anyway, so Gerrit, how can we help the symbionts when we HAVE to manage loads on trees this way?

[Fungus]

but if we do nothing the inevitable is loss of the tree anyway, so how can we help the symbionts when we HAVE to manage loads on trees this way?

 

Tony,

By doing exactly what you already suggested , reducing the load/weight and saving as much foliage as one can.

I only wanted to point out, that although poorly developed, there is more to account for with this tree species specific ecosystem, then there is for the ecosystems of trees with endomycorrhizal partners.

Edited May 25, 2011 by Fungus