To Coronet or Not to Coronet, now that is a question

[vduben]

on a similar note my uncle used to do some winching work on beech trees, he put small cuts in and ripped them apart so they were left with huge cracks and rips, in fact if you go on the big tree walk in the new forsest there is one example there, i think this kinda work deffinatly has its place and deffinatly doesnt belong in public areas as its just incouraging disease..

[Jamie]

At uni i did my dissertation on Deadwood habitat ecology and i'm a huge fan of coronet cuts, but i've never yet had a chance to do them. Folks up here aint that forward thinking.

 

In the management plan i wrote i encouraged the use of coronet cuts, injecting decay fungi, and boring into trees to create suitable microhabitats.

 

more saproxylic habitats can be created by encouraging the wood to rot inside out, hence i never recommended ring barking etc.

 

 

Jamie

[tockmal]

At uni i did my dissertation on Deadwood habitat ecology and i'm a huge fan of coronet cuts, but i've never yet had a chance to do them. Folks up here aint that forward thinking.

 

Jamie

 

Jamie,

 

I've been involved with loads of coronet cutting with SNH at Loch Lomond. Also done coronet cuts when climbing for a company in Perthshire.

 

I'm not a big fan of doing them from a rope and harness but would be happy to make coronet cuts all day from a MEWP or spider lift etc.

 

Did you hear about RSPB using explosives to blow the tops off old growth Scots Pines last year to create more habitat for scottish crossbills?

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6069244.stm

 

It does happen up here. Maybe you should ask your boss to recommended it in some cases. Or maybe just make a few sly coronet cuts when no-one is looking.

[nuttyarb]

Nice thread Monkeyd.

IMHO, conservation and arboriculture are very closely related now. Past practices have reduced habitat and eco-systems to the point of many life forms becoming threatened with extinction. Bats, stag beetles, violet click beetles, certain fungi, etc, etc.

 

Any work- such as coronets or erecting standing deadwood- has got to be beneficial to the environment and should be carried out where appropriate.

 

There are obvious safety implications which should be addressed- as Tockmal says, this kind of stuff should be done from mewps were possible.

 

on a similar note my uncle used to do some winching work on beech trees, he put small cuts in and ripped them apart so they were left with huge cracks and rips

Vduben's point is interesting because there is theory behind this. Often you get a lot of regrowth from a pruning point, resulting in a pollard. If you look at a trees recovery from storm damage, you notice the regrowth occurs over a longer length of the branch. Another idea is that cutting with a chainsaw can kill the cells in the branch causing die back, whereas ripping does not damage the cells, resulting in a better response in the tree. The photo shows the formation of a second canopy after storm damage.

 

 

This might seem an odd idea- carving standing deadwood into sculptures in public and private gardens. It would be a good way of retaining the habitat a dead tree offers and would be pleasing on the eye, making customers more amenable to conservation.

You never know, it may work!

[Marc]

You have some cool pics nuttyarb.

[nuttyarb]

Thanks Marc- most are from Windsor Great Park.

[Marc]

Hello Marc,

hadn`t come across the spear technique for stags before, usually we cut Oak bollards and "plant" them at different heights in groupings.

The Bugs love this, but so does Armilaria !

 

Cheers

MonkeyD

 

I'm not convinced its the best idea for stags, yours sounds much better. Spear cutting has more to do with trying to replicate strom damage where torn limbs would break out and stab into the ground, and hopefully provide habitat.

In some of the nature reserves, parks and trust sites i've worked at leaving potentially dangerous trees standing is an unacceptable risk.

 

So creating standing monoliths or trying to replicate storm damage as a form of reduction is more desirable, and leaving the fallen branches where they fall makes for a more natural looking and better enviroment.

[nuttyarb]

In some of the nature reserves, parks and trust sites i've worked at leaving potentially dangerous trees standing is an unacceptable risk.

It is true- its becoming harder to retain dangerous trees, which are the best for habitat.

 

Depending on the management of the park, there are ways of retaining dangerous trees. For instance- don't mow under the tree leaving an area of long grass often prevents people going close. It is also a great way of alleviating compaction- the grass and microbes will soon aerate the soil.

 

Fallen branches can be re-positioned to create suggestive barriers or thorny bushes can planted.

Desire lines cans often be diverted using dead stems or branches.

[Lee Winger]

Would anybody namely the site owner and the picture poster [Monkeyd] be offended if I used a couple of your brilliant coronet cut photographs, for my new website?

[Steve Bullman]

not I