Re-pollard of ancient Willow

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

The short answer: An arborist might find it more apropo' for the tree to close those niches rather than leave them open. There is a difference--our spheres do overlap in many areas but not this one.

 

The longer dumber answer:

The count was for infection courts aka niches, and the total # of those created by pollarding back to the trunk is 1. The # created by reduction pruning cuts that an arborist might find apropo' to create is much higher.

 

Doesn't creating more potential niches in a plethora of places produce more potential for biodiversity?

Mycologists and ecologists might find these niches fascinating to study, but they might need binoculars.

Are the only niches apropo' to study those that can be observed with the naked eye, from the earth?

 

the quantity and quality of deadwood habitats.......

[treeseer]

Because of the density and impenetrabilety of these river bank "grienden", except for one place called Dorestad (now Wijk bij Duurstede), the Vikings didn't succeed in invading The Netherlands from their ships with which they sailed inland on the rivers.

 

Ha! Thanks for the anecdote. We try to document how trees reinforce levees, and also protect homes from storm damage, and you provide a reference for protection from a very different kind of storm.

 

The branch sprouting example referred to tree health from an arborist's point of view. Reduction pruning may provide less interesting habitat to mycologists, true. That is actually the whole idea! It's one area where those two spheres do not overlap.

[Fungus]

And this is how this worked out for a weeping willow, which lost a major part of its crown during last week's storm in a park close to my house, leaving a tree behind, which will be loosing more of its crown in a next storm if it is not pollarded properly this time.

In the vicinity of this tree were two more cases of about the same damage done to other weeping willows during the same storm.

 

Today, the weeping willow, that lost a major part of its crown was pollarded (first photo) and the crown of one of the other willows with less damage was heavily reduced too (second photo with first willow left in the background).

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[WorcsWuss]

You've left a lot of long limbs in place on both of those Willows Gerrit. Presumably there is no damage to any of that structure which would show as a weakspot when new growth surges out at the higher levels? I have not really seen Willows pollarded in that way, I have only ever done them at the fork, even Weeping Willows.

Was that a specific request of the client or is this a more common method of pollarding than I realised?

[Treecreeper1961]

just take off all the limbs back to clean cuts as best as poss and watch it go bananas, then re do every other year, wont matter if it slips past up to three years over the schedule.

 

There is guidance to restoring lapsed pollards in BS2998:2010. The onus is on phased reduction rather than immediate removal of stems back to the original pollard.

Willow responds exceptionally well to coppicing and pollarding but would you follow that recommendation on any lapsed willow pollards or not? Pros and cons of each please.

[Fungus]

You've left a lot of long limbs in place on both of those Willows. Presumably there is no damage to any of that structure which would show as a weakspot when new growth surges out at the higher levels? I have not really seen Willows pollarded in that way, I have only ever done them at the fork, even Weeping Willows.

Was that a specific request of the client or is this a more common method of pollarding than I realised?

 

The pollarding was not done by me and not at my request (I'm a mycologist and forest ecologist, not an arborist), but by arborists of the town council.

I show the pictures, because I totally disagree with this kind of pollarding, because - as you already stated - within some years (part of) the crowns of the willows will (again) collaps, as there's a lot of damage (lesions, cracks) in the remaining limbs making them incapable of holding up the extra weight of the sprouting, far outstretching and hanging down branches and twigs.

[WorcsWuss]

Sorry Gerrit, I didn't realise!

How did both the town council and the tree surgeons who did the work manage to get it so obviously wrong? I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but if I spotted it, surely anyone could?!

Simon

[David Humphries]

I show the pictures, because I totally disagree with this kind of pollarding, because - as you already stated - within some years (part of) the crowns of the willows will (again) collaps, as there's a lot of damage (lesions, cracks) in the remaining limbs making them incapable of holding up the extra weight of the sprouting, far outstretching and hanging down branches and twigs.

 

They may collapse if left as a one hit reduction, but if brought in to a cycle of re-pollarding they may not (probably won't)

 

 

 

 

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[Fungus]

They may collapse if left as a one hit reduction, but if brought into a cycle of re-pollarding they may not (probably won't)

 

David & Simon,

Are these weeping willows too ? Tomorrow, I'll make some photo's of the lesions and cracks, that are already there.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

There is guidance to restoring lapsed pollards in BS2998:2010. The onus is on phased reduction rather than immediate removal of stems back to the original pollard.

Willow responds exceptionally well to coppicing and pollarding but would you follow that recommendation on any lapsed willow pollards or not? Pros and cons of each please.

 

 

Sorry I missed this post earlier:blushing:

 

A lot would depend on previous dysfunctional volumes and their position in relation to the desired pollarding.

 

This is going to take some time to answer as I now have to refer to the BS 3998 2010 to see what your referring too. thats not to say i dont know and therefore do not work to BS 3998 because i work beyond the standards.

 

could you state and number the question in a less ambiguos way so that i can be precise?