beech oppinions please

[detritus21]

Looked at this beech today its about 20m high and 3 feet diameter. It has a significant cavity at the base which would account for about 60% of the base of the tree. The cavity itself is not very open. Crown density looks ok having been thinned about 3 years since. There is root flaring.

 

In the cavity there is lots of rotton wood that has fallen away I'm usure if some of it is just decay or some is fungi also. The tree is about 8m away from the house.

 

WP_20130222_004 by detritus-21, on Flickr

 

WP_20130222_001 by detritus-21, on Flickr

 

WP_20130222_002 by detritus-21, on Flickr

[sloth]

Difficult to advise from pics alone.

What are the targets if it failed?

Who thinned it and why?

Has any fungi been seen fruiting?

Is the black colouration on the rotten wood, which presumably came from within the cavity, like thin sheets? Or more a discolouration of the wood itself?

If in doubt and the client values the tree perhaps get a local consultant to have a look and advise what if anything should be done.

 

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[detritus21]

Targets if it failed are the house and the neighbours swimming pool. No evidence of fruiting bodies. Black coloration is thin sheets. It was thinned by a private company to a good standard in my opinion. It was thinned to allow more light i believe.

[RobRainford]

Want me to come and have a nose Steve? Where's the tree?

[treeseer]

Buttress roots look very strong. The tree stands on them, not the core. Rotten or not, the heartwood is pretty much dead. Depending on prognosis of fungal activity, perhaps start reducing, especially where lean is toward target.

 

And in any case remove turf 6" to avoid mower damage and give the trunk some breathing room.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Buttress roots look very strong. The tree stands on them, not the core. Rotten or not, the heartwood is pretty much dead. Depending on prognosis of fungal activity, perhaps start reducing, especially where lean is toward target.

 

And in any case remove turf 6" to avoid mower damage and give the trunk some breathing room.

 

agreed

 

and 70% hollow would be the limit before concerns

[Scottie]

What about a good old mulching after removing the turf and also adding fertiliser to give it a boost.

[treeseer]

What about a good old mulching after removing the turf and also adding fertiliser to give it a boost.

 

without seeing crown hard to say re fert--if treee was just thinned--does a "proper thinning" mean interior was gutted?-- then fert would add a lot of end growth which aggravates the stability concern so sounds counterproductive.

 

re mulch, why tell owners they should give up lawn (which they like so much they just paid to thin crown to get light in), with need/benefit uncertain. there will be lots of resistance to that notion; better to fight another battle?

 

most important to keep flare clear--mulching that area would favor the decay fungus would it not? establishing objective first helps guide treatment options and we don't have owner here so...

Edited February 23, 2013 by treeseer

[ADB328]

I would still mulch around it if they have spent money wanting to keep the tree makes sense to do as much as you can.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I would still mulch around it if they have spent money wanting to keep the tree makes sense to do as much as you can.

 

agreed.

 

it looks to me like soil levels have been altered at some stage, die back may be as a result of surface root damage/removal. Also the grass is VERY lush and green, has it been "weed and feed" treated?

 

scrub that last comment the soil level is old and there is moss in the lawn.