sean freeman

I have (sadly) found myself in Jeremy's position on a number of occasions whilst living and working in Oz and more recently in NZ. I know from times spent in Jeremy's company during his visits to Oz that this action by the NT would have frustrated and saddened him greatly. His presentation in the video is measured and carefully thought through, I hope that disapproval of such an extreme course of management action is felt by the NT and perhaps some in that organisation take time to consider how they might make more responsible and balanced decisions in the future. For those who watch the video and feel some anger at the lack of balance in the felling decision perhaps you might do more than simply like Jeremy's video and dislike the NT video...perhaps you might consider writing to the NT and tell them how unhappy you are about this management approach.

Hi David hope the new year is good for you and yours....No I have not seen much bracing here, like Oz it seems (to me at least) that cable bracing whether static or dynamic has not gained enough recognition as a useful tool in certain circumstances to conserve tree architecture rather than using a saw.

Thanks for posting this David as others have said it is really encouraging to see that there are places where resources are being used to preserve and conserve this rare type of habitat.

Not sure just how accurate this is but two pathogens are named here Jack's Oak Tree If it is accurate not sure about the prognosis Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum is closely related to the genus Hypoxylon, and there are few references to Inonotus andersonii but it has been described in some texts as a contributing factor to branch loss in oaks (http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/pubs/oakpests/p46.html)

Very well documented reflecting your teams serious and (IMO) balanced and proportionate approach to highly valuable assets in their specific locations with all the particular circumstances associated with those locations. Well done David

Contact Queensland Arboricultural Association to get contact details for the qualified members, they are likely to know who is looking for qualified workers as well.

I concur with Guy, David what you and your team undertake on the heath is truly impressive and any aspect of it should (and has been!) be included in various texts. For those who have less time and space in their particular workplace perhaps it might be instructive to consider the location of the fruiting body which stimulated the higher level of inspection...even if you don't have easy access to a resi or similar sounding hammer should have helped confirm what the f/b position was suggesting....NEVER ignore decay fruiting bodies which have punched right through the suberin layer of the bark without any sign of preexisting physical defect (included bark union crack etc...)

Lovely pics David, assuming the larger holes honeycombing the samples are the result of invertebrate activity?

I am not sure that for any of the avenues I have visited thus far that shading from adjacent buildings would be a major concern, I suspect for some residents shading from the Planes (when in full leaf might be an issue for their chosen soft landscape, certainly the leaf and fruit/seed drop is). I would entirely agree that meaningful consultation with the residents and broader community would be a must. I personally think that pollarding is part of the reason the avenues have lasted this long, whether returning the trees to a pollard cycle is the best approach I suspect will hinge on the specific circumstances of each avenue and even the status of the majority trees within each avenue. I do not ever think one size fits all, but the reason for the thread was to try and get a sense of what has been done (or not) in the UK since I know there are many Plane avenues in dense urban areas in numerous British cities, I have also read a couple of planning documents from LGA's in the UK which refer to this very process and the steps they suggest should be followed. Planes are exotic to NZ and whilst there are no 'Red List' species (sadly just like Oz NZ has not yet grasped the importance of that prioritising process!) it would be very hard to mount any kind of argument (that had credence) that Planes were supporting threatened invertebrate communities. The loss of native vegetation and ecosystems has had a tragic impact on NZ wildlife of all kinds...anyone visiting here would attest to that - the forests are almost completely silent (with a few very notable exceptions)

Hi Guy, Last question first...at this stage no-one (in the LGA) wants to do anything other than reactive cutting when footpaths/kerbs/driveways etc become disrupted by tree roots, or branches grow into service lines. HOWEVER...as I know you can see these avenues cannot be left in their current 'unmanaged' state for much longer. I do not have the answer for any of the beautiful avenues but seriously considering and reviewing pollarding has to be (IMO) one of the practical approaches in the mix. As I am sure you remember I am not of the opinion that trees (even lapsed pollards) are about to throw branches through houses cars and buses or dump onto passing pedestrians....in my mind this is an issue of taking stock of the current street tree assets (which IMO are absolutely priceless!) and developing management strategies to ensure the community continues to benefit from these beautiful trees. All that having been said of course such management should properly consider balanced and proportionate assessment of risk. I agree Tony pollarding can be exactly that, in this case as in many others where pollard avenues remain (albeit lapsed) returning the trees to a cycle is (I think) entirely worth proper consideration

Some pictures illustrating the current London plane avenues around Auckland

Before the work were the trees assessed in terms of the predicted response to such large wounds...I guess what I mean is were there any trees that you felt were almost too far gone to get them back to the original pollard heads? Were these limes on private land or part of the streetscape (just wondering about the wider public perception of the works and the need to 'prep' the public for the dramatic impact such pruning has, both visually and functionally.

Thanks Peter, when you were re-cutting the Limes were you working at or around the previous pollard heads or did you make a decision to create a new higher pollard head? It seems to me (certainly with the Planes in Auckland) that the extent and size of growth following the cessation of pollarding makes working to the previous head a very tricky process - not least because of the size of the injury the pruning cuts would cause. I apologise for the delay in replying but being a born again groundie takes a lot of my time and energy...I'll get some pics up of typical examples of the avenue situation soon.

Hello all, hoping that someone on the forum might have knowledge of an exaple of a lapsed pollard 15-25yrs being brought back into cycle. I have for many years observed street tree avenues (mostly London planes) which were once pollarded on a regular cycle (unsure of the exact frequency), but which have in the last 15-30yrs not been so intensely managed and other than some minor branch reductions (presumably in response to complaints - reactive work) have not been regularly attended to. I have seen examples in many towns and cities in the UK (where I went to high school and college) and in various parts of Australia (where I lived for 26yrs). Now I am in NZ (just outside Auckland) I pass along numerous very beautiful double avenues of London planes but know that their current growth cannot be left unmanaged for another 20yrs. I am on the board of the Auckland Tree Council and want to find any examples of similar trees for which the process of bringing them back into a pollard cycle has been attempted. At some point the municipal authority is going to have to address the long term management of these avenues hence my interest. I will put up some pictures of various streets to illustrate the issues but I am sure that this a topic that many of you are familiar with.

Great thread David (as ususal:001_cool:), some excellent pics and clear explanations of what you were doing. I seem to be moving further from being able to return to blighty for a visit in the foreseeable...but it will happen hopefully in the next 2yrs. I think those of us who have been doing aerial inspections for any length of time have collected various bits of kit to aid the assessment process, I never had the opportunity to use a 'borascope' but I can certainly see it would have been very useful in a number of high profile trees that were felled (when i and others felt there was no justification based on risk of sig harm). I agree with others who have written how much your work documented here and elsewhere is inspiring and motivational. I can easily imagine the prolonged and continuing 'discussions' you must have with your managers over some of the advice and directions you provide. Being in NZ now I am experiencing another perspective/cultural take on tree management and all that entails! In the end for me like you and Guy and numerous others it is rarely sufficient nor adequate to solely base our management advice on a ground based inspection. Climbing into and touching the tree and its architecture (poking, prodding and scoping the various holes and bumps and lumps) is really the only way to be able to form an informed opinion of the structural (and to some extent functional) integrity of the tree.