National Meripilus Network

[Marcus B-T]

I thought I would post an update.

 

Firstly I'd like to thank all those who turned up last week to support the Network and I hope learn a thing or two about Meripilus. My apologies we did not have time to go through the data we collected on Bleeding Canker but I have circulated a first draft of a pdf about the study for people to comment on today so hopefully you got that and will let me know if there are any typos etc. The web site for the network is under construction and should be with us second week Dec. I will post something to let people know when it is up, please don't expect too much at first, but the more people who visit the site the more we can get sponsorship and keep the momentum up, this will ultimately mean we can charge less for event etc. I hope we will have a protocol for invetigations on the web site so that people can get involved and some method for uploading some information where and what people have done so far even if it is just an e-mail address you send info to. One of the tree mapping companies has suggested they might let us have a free licence of their software to log data on which would be great. Following the seminar and the initial donation we have about 75% of the funding we need for the next year so we are nearly there but if anyone wold be interested in a slot on the web site for a logo please contact me [email protected]

 

I have some other ideas for sponsorship that I will probably run past you as an sounding board at some point over the weekend

 

I have looked at the debate on this link and all good stuff, there are a few points that need to be picked up on though and I will try to get to these at some point just to keep the arguments balanced. I do hope they continue though

 

Regards

To All

 

Marcus B-T

[Tim Williams]

The presence of Meripilus at the base of a beech tree is not a reason to fell it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My investigations of tree root systems and particularly those of beech have illustrated how little we know about them and more to the point the information available in books is totally misleading.

 

Meripilus is actually an essential part of beech tree ecology and integral to its survival strategy.

 

Yes it can become an issue when it gets into the lateral root system, but this is usually as a result of other root damage or soil compaction that has injured or killed roots that have then become available to be decayed by Meripilus.

 

Where Meripilus is found at the base of a beech tree the decision to fell or even reduce the tree should not be made without undertaking a root investigation to determine where the fungus is living.

 

In mature trees the structural bias of growth within the buttresses means that there is no longer a functional path for carbohydrates to feed and support the lower layers of the root system and the remnants of the trees ‘tap’ root. During its establishing years the tree maintains the lower root system, but in maturity a greater emphasis appears to be placed on the surface roots that then spread out to form a flair at the base of the trunk similar to that found on traffic cones.

 

When the lower root system is no longer supported by the tree and is starved of carbohydrates it begins to dry out and progressively decayed by fungi such as Meripilus. As the wood is decayed nutrients are released back into the soil, where a fibrous root mass is growing from the surface. The tree is now able to effectively recycle itself, but only because the fungi are there to assist it in the process.

 

The growth of the tree’s root system is totally different from the crown above ground level and its structural form bares no relationship, with a far greater proportion of young roots being produced on a cyclic basis. We have found significant concentrations of fibrous root growth at the base of trees and under the buttresses, particularly in association with decay fungi.

 

The idea that a trees root system continually grows bigger and bigger out away from the trunk in a similar way to the crown in the air above, is a totally misconception and nothing like what actually occurs.

 

Trees could not survive as long as they do without their close co-evolutionary relationship with decay fungi that are an integral part of their ecology.

 

While I see your point about not always felling beech trees with merripilus I also see that to carryout investigations such as thermal imaging etc could prove costly. I am a tree surveyor for a county council highways partnership and today discovered a large beech next to a main arterial root (no pun intended lol)

from the M6 with the decaying remains of said fungus all round the base and patches extending into the field due to the risk/target what would you do fell or keep, as we know little about the fungus we do know it's unpredicatable and therefore can you take a chance with it in that situation.

[John Hancock]

While I see your point about not always felling beech trees with merripilus I also see that to carryout investigations such as thermal imaging etc could prove costly. I am a tree surveyor for a county council highways partnership and today discovered a large beech next to a main arterial root (no pun intended lol)

from the M6 with the decaying remains of said fungus all round the base and patches extending into the field due to the risk/target what would you do fell or keep, as we know little about the fungus we do know it's unpredicatable and therefore can you take a chance with it in that situation.

 

 

You'll be the one in front of the magistrate if you decide to keep it! Fell and replace.

[Tim Williams]

You'll be the one in front of the magistrate if you decide to keep it! Fell and replace.

My thoughts exactly hence highways have been notified and an enforcement notice issued to the landowner. I can understand keeping the tree if it were in open parkland with few people spending any length of time around it but where the target is high they have to come out or someone could be killed.

[Bundle 2]

Where is the tree as the AIAS maybe interested enough to investigate the root system post fell?

[Alinicoll]

With the splendid and prominent fruiting of Meripilus this year there has been a great deal of discussion around the wisdom or otherwise of retaining trees, especially Beech with fruiting bodies. Anyone working with trees for long enough has seen those typically spectacular Meripilus failures, yet we hear of trees retained for long periods, apparently in good health with this fungus present.

David Lonsdale has, in the past, suggested that fruiting from the buttresses may be less significant than fruiting from the root plate. With this in mind we decided to perform an air spade investigation on a Beech with a fair old fruiting from both buttresses and some parts of the root plate. The tree is in an area with quite bad compaction on clay soil (proven using a penetrometer), the canopy is thinning but not badly.

 

The purpose of the video is to share the experience of airspading the roots of a Beech with apparently extensive Meripilus for those who (like me) may not have seen this before. Hopefully it is useful.

 

 

[Paul Barton]

Thanks for the video and explanation Ali. What did you find in the areas where the fruiting bodies emanated from between buttresses? 

 

Will you decompact with the airspade and apply a mulch? 

[Alinicoll]

Hi Paul,

 

We actually found very little direct evidence of decay between the buttresses and also failed to find any of the classic Meripilus decay on the under side of the structural roots. It is possible that if we had gone around the whole of the base then more evidence would have been forthcoming. You may have noticed I spent a bit of time trying to clean out between two of the buttresses on the right side of the time lapse shot where a fruiting body was growing, there was a small cavity there leading under the stem but there wasn't any extensive decay visible and the sounding mallet evidence was inconclusive which was a bit of a surprise. I have some Resi readings taken into a few of the buttresses which do show significant cavitation behind the buttresses. I'll try to upload those in the next few days.

 

Regarding decompaction; the tree is part of a copse which extends a couple of hundred meters along a ridge, it is well used by walkers and so the compaction covers a long wide area. Many of the Beech in this area are declining heavily, most have some degree of fungal colonisation and several have died in the last couple of years (perhaps drought also taking it's toll?). In a perfect world I would really like to restrict access to the area to give the ground a rest but this may prove controversial and would probably just shift the problem somewhere else. Decompaction with the airspade and mulching is certainly an option and something that we could look at for a few trees in the area. I don't know how effective it would be without trying to somehow limit the footfall on the soil. Certainly we are considering how to tackle the problem or if, in this case it is worth the use of resources.

 

Given the condition of the tree, poor root condition with a slightly thin canopy, it would certainly be interesting to see if improving its rooting environment might help it re-establish better supporting roots or if it is simply too far gone.

 

 

[Gary Prentice]

14 hours ago, Paul Barton said:

 

 

Will you decompact with the airspade and apply a mulch? 

I know I keeping harping on but, the work at Burghley with just a good depth (some would say excessive) of chip is impressive in reducing compaction and cheap.

[Alinicoll]

8 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

I know I keeping harping on but, the work at Burghley with just a good depth (some would say excessive) of chip is impressive in reducing compaction and cheap.

The most basic form of mitigation I can think of in the and most likely to happen in this case is slinging a load of mulch about and seeing what happens. There's plenty of dead Beech in the area to chip

I've not been to Burghley, it would probably be worth a trip.