Managing Trees with Decay & Dysfunction

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

That's not the point, the point is that this cluster of six or seven 6.000 year old clones has to compete with the genetically identical cluster of 70 clones of Quercus palmeri (13.000 years old) and the 47.000 genetically identical clones of Populus tremelloides of at least 80.000 years old.

 

going by the fact these Olive clones have done this once already, we can safely assume as the clones grow they will do it again, and again.

 

and whos to say the grove isnt made up entirely of such clones? be interesting to find out how many are genetically identifiable wouldn't it.

[David Humphries]

an interesting last half hour to the day.........

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

another chestnut failure with Kretz huh!

[David Humphries]

Willow with Armillaria, will be interesting to see how long before its neighbour succumbs to it.

 

Last shot shows the mycelial sheet under the bark.

 

 

Cord is going to build a deadwood wall around a pond for buggy type things.

 

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Holm oak from the campus at Reading University.

 

Concrete, Ganoderma & a serious amount of bracing within the canopy holding this fine tree together.

 

 

I've edited/highlighted the last shot, as the original image doesn't show the bracing well in the evening light under the canopy.

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Interesting day today.

 

We've been managing this tree down over the last 5 or 6 years toward a low monolith.

Affected by Ganoderma at the base & Inonotus up in the crown.

 

Rich habitat for both birds & bugs, with tits & lesser stags being just a couple of the myriad of home makers in this declining biomass.

 

Following shots are from different visits/works to the tree over those years.

 

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Frustratingly, we got a call from the fire brigade today whilst we were deadwooding some trees over the highway, some bright 'spark' had decided to set the beasties desres alight.

 

The cavity was well alight and the fire was smouldering upwards, we were asked to fell it to make sure the boys in blue could be assured of it being out.

 

Habitat & management plan down the tube in one stupid imbicilic second.

 

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Interesting day today.

 

The other interesting part of today involved taking the resistograph up into this beech to assess the level of decay associated with the Trametyes & Ganoderma that are affecting the tree.

 

First shot is from when we reduced the tree by a few meters a couple of years ago after a significant branch/canopy failure failure.

 

Todays readings have led me to re-appraise the timing of the next phase of reduction.

 

Last shot is target context.

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Had a look at a copper beech with Meripilus yesterday, we decided to look a little closer today as the fruit bodies were girdling the whole tree.

 

Fairly high target area as it stands at the entrance to a 30 acre park.

 

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[David Humphries]

We airspaded out to about 1.5m from the trunk, as this is the area where Meripilus failures often occur where the lateral guy roots seperate from the base of the butresses.

 

We sounded out each & every uncovered root with a nylon hammer, to listen for the tell tale dull thud of white rot decay.

 

Back filled with a mix of local top soil & organic mulch

 

There is at this time, very little decay in the 'now' root system.

I believe the Meripilus is degrading the old original roots from below the trunk.

 

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