Managing Trees with Decay & Dysfunction

[Adam Bourne]

Went to look at a beech tree this afternoon with a contractor, the tree is on death row, as its been given the go ahead to be taken down due to several ganoderma applanatum brackets and is road side! The tree is situated in a wildlife area, but its been requested the stump be ground out! I was wondering what flaws there would be leaving it as a 20ftish wildlife monolith, but there are other beech trees in and surrounding. Would this be a problem? Could the disease spread? Just trying to make the quote cheaper for the customer and also utilising what I think would be a decent habitat for wildlife.

 

Sorry no pictures

 

Any advice would be great

 

 

Adam

 

 

 

Ooopppps think I might of put this in the wrong thread

[David Humphries]

 

Any advice would be great:

 

Ganoderma applanatum isn't really a disease Adam.

It doesn't attack healthy intact trees.

 

The spore will be in the vicinity ofcourse and if they have the opportunity to enter a tree through an exposed interface then they will colonise the niche.

 

What state are the other beeches in?

 

Beech make great standing deadwood, they offer a fantastic ecological habitat for a huge array of species.

 

 

Would 20 feet be enough to leave it next to the road in terms of future target?

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[Adam Bourne]

Ganoderma applanatum isn't really a disease Adam.

It doesn't attack healthy intact trees.

 

The spore will be in the vicinity ofcourse and if they have the opportunity to enter a tree through an exposed interface then they will colonise the niche.

 

What state are the other beeches in?

 

 

 

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Thanks david

 

From a quick glance they looked in good health, and showning no signs of any fungal activity on them!

[Matthew Arnold]

A local parish council had a large oak tree heavily reduced due to large amounts of deadwood (60% dysfunctional wood in crown). The LA TO was there as was the head of Arb at DCC (County council) and apparently both were at loggerheads all day about what to do. The decision was to reduce to sound wood and to create a tall pollard with healthy growth points. This is the result. It had Fistulina heptica and Inototus dryadeus at the base.

[David Humphries]

Is that Durweston Matt?

 

 

 

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[Matthew Arnold]

Is that Durweston Matt?

 

 

 

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Yup. The tree was going to be given then chop but parish council wanted to try and save it.

[David Humphries]

I had a look at these trees a few years ago.

 

 

appears that the crowns have deteriorated in that time.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Matthew Arnold]

The tree nearest you in the pic has just been deadwooded and crown cleaned. The next tree down was given the same treatment. The far tree was in a very bad way. Small yellow leaves in upper crown, sporadic tufts,etc. So that was given the hammering. Retrenchment wasn't an option as the tree had tried and failed so the decision was made to leave it at a 12-16ft high pollard and monitor trees twice annually making notes of brackets at base, crown conditon,etc.

[treeseer]

they surely did tear up those buttress roots--lawn mowers? horses?

[Matthew Arnold]

they surely did tear up those buttress roots--lawn mowers? horses?

 

Lawnmowers that were driven by donkeys by the looks of it. The site was grazed years and years ago by cattle but the damage only appeared in the last 3 years.