Ring barked Alder - still growing!

[Keithrturner]

Visited a site last week and this twin stem Alder was one of the trees - as you can see one stem has been completely ring barked, there is also a deeper wound on the stem. There is about 4ft of the stem, with no bark, on the lower end of the wound - the bark is starting to flake off however the top of wound is showing adaptive growth, with good callous wood growing around the bottom of the remaining bark.

 

Anyone seen anything like this?

[Stubby]

Yep . I had a pear tree ( grafted on cherry root stock ) . A pair of cocker spaniel pups ring barked it , above the graft , and up about 2ft ( as high as they could reach ) . It continued fo grow and produce fruit for many years . I had to cut it down in the end to make room for a log store .

[treeseer]

Ringbarking does not affect water going up.

 

Resources flowing down make response (scar) growth.

 

Cambium is overrated. All parenchyma cells can divide.

[MATTMOSS]

Ringbarking does not affect water going up.

 

Resources flowing down make response (scar) growth.

 

Cambium is overrated. All parenchyma cells can divide.

 

That is put very bluntly however, I agree.

[woodyguy]

I guess having two stems means the roots are being fed by the left hand normal stem which are then keeping the ring barked stem alive.

[armybloke]

Ring-barked a Silver Birch four years ago for ecological biomass. Cut into the stem 4 inches all the way around and then cut a wedge shape out from that. Fell over this winter finally! Resilient little critters.