Split beech with Ganoderma + Fomes

[Fungus]

The splitting in half was done by the mycelial sheets of the simultaneous white rotter Fomes fomentarius ... entirely attributable to fungal activity - especially of Fomes - inside the tree.

 

Guy,

See David's post for excellent pictures of the mycelial sheet or felt of Laetiporus sulphureus, which has forced an acute fork limb of a beech to split off and fall.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Fungus

[Fungus]

Nowadays beeches standing at the edges of woodlands, which are heavily under the influence of ammonia deposition (nitrification) coming from maize fields and manured grasslands, are sometimes struck by lightning because of the changes in the constituents of the surface of their "skin" (bark), which turn the bark from neutral into negative attracting electrical discharges of lightning because of the hightened conductivity.

 

Some documentation (photo 1-4) of this still rare phenomenon. This young beech is standing in an open gap in a wooded bank next to a intensively manured grassland, where it is constantly "hit" by the ammonia transported by wind coming from the open field. Also notice the free standing oak in the background of the first picture, which is one of the eldest Quercus robur of The Netherlands.

Photo 5/6 shows an all too common phenomenon, an old beech, which is standing at a "corner" of the cross roads of a main road and a dirt road coming from a pig farm. The nitrification of the bark of the trunk by the ammonia coming from the "pig factory" by the dominant south west wind creates a substrate for nitrogen loving lichens, such as the Xanthoria species on the bark, and triggers Nectria ditissima to cause massive bark cankers.

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[Fungus]

And documentation of two of three beeches, which were struck by lightning several years ago. All three trees are standing at the edge of a 100-150 years old beech woodland under direct influence of ammonia (nitrification) coming from an overmanured grassland and a maize field. The last beech has recently been hit again and lost its entire crown.

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Edited August 18, 2011 by Fungus

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I have to repeat, your experiences and knowledge are the stuff i strive to gain everyday of my working life, its what drives me to get out in my lunch breaks and on my weekends, and on my way home from work, drives me to go and look.

 

Anyone reading your regular contributions must surely realise the immense value you offer to our collective knowledge, we are so very very lucky.

[Ben Ballard]

what a amazing amount of information,Thancks for sharing your knowledge i realy appreciate it:thumbup1:

[Fungus]

Documentation from the same woodland site I've been monitoring for some years of a beech, that recently broke in half taking down another beech in its fall.

The lower half of the trunk is covered with anamorphs and teleomorphs of K. deusta. The upper half has several 5 tot 15 years old perennial brackets of F. fomentarius. The oldest bracket is still attached to the part of the trunk that lies below the water surface.

Recently, a woodpecker started creating a nesting whole. The part of the trunk above the water surface shows an intensive white rot by F. fomentarius, of which the mycelium not only has decomposed the wood in the split, but also the greater part of the heart wood of both trunks of the bifurcated tree.

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[Fungus]

Documentation of a beech, which has been split in half by the mycelia of Fomes fomentarius and Ganoderma lipsiense, is provided. The about 150 years old beech is standing in a mixed forest, which has not been managed over some decades, on poor sandy soil.

Photo 1/2/3 : show the remaining parts of the trunk from two sides after the tree has been split in half and lost its crown, with the branches falling towards two sides of the tree trunk.

 

New documentation of the split beech from my yesterday's visit to the site.

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[son of a birch]

Great pics, great old tree!