sean freeman

Beautiful pics, love the colour of the laccaria Amethystina~Amethyst deciever, I especially like the pic of the Aminita muscaria~fly agaric mainly because of the Mycena sp hiding to the side diligently working away breaking down the leaf and woody debris...hardest workers in the forest:001_cool:

Lucky if you can get that long out of the poor stock, poorly planted into very hostile growing environments that we see every day down here in SE Qld. :>(

Nicely put David. :>)

Brilliant pictures Tony....as Bundle said plain greedy....present you with some interesting mental imagery though those competing (well some of them) fungi for volumes of wood tissue, producing antifungal secretions, wonderfully complex since many produce the same secretions to which (naturaly enough) they have an immunity!..and all of this happening in 3D over very variable time frames...fungi shifting from primary to secondary decomposers perhaps even teriary decomposers, saprophytes becoming facultative parasites makes your head spin.....I love it!!!

I suspect you will find as a great many others have done that the modes action adopted by a particular fungi can be significantly influenced by the local conditions. Stamets work relating to the effective use of species such as sparassis was in the NW USA where it was observed as a saprophyte, along withTrametes and Ganoderma. Personally I think Stamets is right from what I can observe here in Oz it is more accurate to use terms such as facultative parasites (where the shoe fits!), it is also critical to recognise that it is possible to describe primary, secondary and tertiary decomposers within saprophytic fungi, although of course species can and will cross these intellectual categories depending on circumstances. Mycologists like Stamets base their opinions on theirs and others fieldwork, but are only too aware that their conclusions are neither universal nor set in stone... "Some mycologists believe that the cauliflower mushrooms (Sparassis crispa) is a root parasite that like Armillaria can grow saprophytically after the tree dies. However, I have yet to see a forest blighted by cauliflower mushrooms, whereas I have seen thousands of acres of forests in Washington, Oregon, and Colerado that were killed by Armillaria fungi. I have found cauliflowers only at the base of very large trees or stumps, so (it is his opinion) if it is a root parasite, the cauliflower does not seem to become destructive until their aged hosts are already in decline" [stamets 'Mycelium running pp47-48] His lab work supports the blight blocking scenario with the production of the antifungal antibiotic agents that permit cauliflowers to parasitize Armillaria. This is a potential control option that in principle could be effective and one that certainly will need substantial trials to be able to convince any forester to even consider trying it.

Yes they can be a bit smelly, I took those shots whilst walking Leon (in the Avatar) so the smell was a welcome distraction for him The Bridal Veil is Phallus indusiatus (used to be Dictyophora indusiata)

Hatfield Forest is very special, I did some voluntary work in the early 1980's on the outskirts of St Albans (near Tyttenhanger)..heard talk of this great place Hatfield Forest...foolishly thought it would be near Hatfield...ah well very lovely county Herts.

Fabulous photos a great thread really enjoying the views... Interestingly there is a substantial arguement for the use of Sparasis crispa as an effective competitor for Armillaria species and Heterobasidon annosum (Stamets ~ Mycoforestry)

Some pretty ones from new years rain up north (NQld)

No just a general point that I think applies in the UK just as much as it does here in upside down land. It is my opinion that some consultants present their assessments in part or in total as something of akin to a magic show, smoke mirrors and coloured printouts. It could be argued that this is actually what some clients want, and perhaps there is some truth in that. My point would be that if you do not really understand the foundation of the methods you are applying during your assessments, and are not able to explain them...then you can expect at some point in the future to be undone, hopefully not in a formal environment like a Land and Environment Court. I totally agree with Bundle that to attempt to deconstruct the connections between the various many approaches that make up the foundation of our professional practice is counterproductive.

A view from upside down land: I doubt there is any consultant out there that does not make use of some aspect of VTA methodolgy, the problem from my perspective comes in terms of the extent to which the limitations of VTA are understood and expressed within the particular consultants work. Whilst it is true that any consultant can get hold of the basic (and arguablythe more advanced) information relating to VTA as an assessment methodology, my own experience is that without exposing oursleves to formal training in VTA the results of the self "training" can be very hit and miss. The critical reviews of some of the statistical aspects of Claus Mattheck's work in the last 8yrs has I believe helped (those that wish to be helped) identifiy the limits not just of the practical applications for VTA but more broadly many of the assumptions we all carry with us before stepping out of the office. Anyone being exposed to VTA as an assessment method today should if they care to make a little effort, benefit from the experience of all the other working consultants that have been applying the method and the reams of published works detailing the evolution of it application. I am a licensed user of QTRA, and I wish to state (as I have written in a number of fora) just how much I have benefitted from being exposed to the different perspective that this target driven risk assessment methdology provides. QTRA is just another assessment tool that a consultant can apply to a specific task or tasks within a project, but it has provided me (and many others who go to the training) with a means to balance the often very skewed perspective we can all have about trees in our urban environment. I also think that the VTA training provided by Mike Ellison and David Evans helps place QTRA within the context of the kind of regular assessments that many of us are requested to carry out. Yes its a lot more than the wheel!...I hardly ever use that any more, but it can be a very useful means of conveying the principles of the methodology to engineers and interestingly those that assess bushfire risks (they have an almost identical device with sliding vanes). Personally any methodology I apply has to be rigorous, it has to stand up to critical review to challenges by those who disagree with my conclusions or my recommendations the people who have asked for my help need to understand (if they want to) how I assessed the tree(s) and how I reached my conclusions. I don't mean that the aim is to create Arborists in every client (though that would be nice in many ways!!), but I am not interested in any approach that hides behind jargon, that cannot be explained in a direct and clear manner.

Yes David they are Eucalyptus camaldulensis ~ River Red Gums, there was a paper written some time back which I used to have a reference for but have since lost relating to the number of different species inhabiting a large Euc in an open woodland site...my very fallible memory tells me it was Ted and Jill when they were out here that made mention of it. We are slowly getting ourselves informed of the critical role such veteran (and where they are present 'ancient') trees play in our ecology. The Uniqueness of Habitats in Old Eucalypts:

Another brilliant thread guys! You might consider getting yourselves Paul Stamets' Mycelium Running...(maybe your local libraray might be able to track down a copy if you don't want to fork out the folding)...it contains a wealth of fungal info including the benefit of his 20yrs+ practical experience of what he calls mycoforestry.

What a wonderful thread Here are some shots from SA (the base of the Flinders Ranges) anyone in the ATF might have seen some of these via Mike Ellison's slide show.

I just wanted to say what an inspiration the ATH Woodland Trust and ATF are to a great many of us on the other side of the world. I take my hat off to all who give of their precious free time to help forge connections between people across the country and their more significant trees. We are late arrivals in this process 'down under' but we are committed to following the lead being blazed in the UK.

Your pics as others have abley pointed out are quite breathtakingly beautiful David, you are (as I am sure you know) blessed to be the custodian of such magnificent veteran and ancient trees....yes I am very very envious! The pictures of your current cold spell are addictive to anyone here in the Australian heat...I cannot recipricate since our seasons in Queensland are to say the least subtle.

Hamadryad, I agree whole heartedly with your post regarding the importance of sharing ideas with clients...this is an excellent thread with very thought provoking ideas being put out there and discussed. To qoute Neville Fay in a recent(ish) email.... "A key conservation arboriculture objective is therefore that there should be ‘no avoidable loss of veteran and ancient trees’. Given that mature trees are the veteran and ancients of tomorrow, this objective extends to the management of the younger, mature cohort (important also for its contribution to ecosystem services, including urban climate control).......When is intervention appropriate? This would depend on the objectives of the client, also hopefully informed by the CA professionals’ expertise and advice. Intervention needs to consider time and priority, (if it is necessary at all, if so, how soon and how long can it reasonably be put off?), whether any intervention with the above ground tree / parts can be avoided (can intervention relating to health or stress remediation be confined to the root-soil system, mitigating rhyzosphere condition, again when and how long and how little)." Really love your signature line from Alan Rayner..great stuff

What a beauty!

Ficus macrophylla, yes the car parking is frustrating, I filmed some more footage and spoke about that but didnnot load it to youtube. The only thing in favour of the tree is its age....whilst it would be rightfully called a veteran for SE Qld, it certainly is not old by ficus standards, hopefully its age and apparent good health will see it through the repeated compaction every weekend.

These pics were taken when the regrowth under the canopy was much smaller, hence the buttresses much easier to view..... Its not that I disagree with the theories explaining what might be going on here, more that the chasm between the model and the reality is often too great for the model to be all that useful....

A slightly different slant on the biomechanics theme, a very basic and brief look at some lovely buttress roots not far from where I live and work in SE Qld [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmH62D0Wyw]YouTube - Buttress Root theory Vs reality[/ame]

A truely beautiful tree Rupert thanks for posting those pics

Yes its an open drainage swale, if you look at the other vid on the youtube page about changing veg in the park, I talk (do I ever stop???) about the draining of what was a Melaleuca swamp and the emerging dominance of the Albizia saman, there are still a few paperbarks in the park one fairly big one in a distant corner that might have been a sapling when the park drainage began. The swale is part of the stormwater management for the local area, townsville is an anachronistic bit of dry tropics jammed hard against the wet tropics to the north, so most of the time it is very dry but every now and again it gets very very wet very very quickly, and this park used to be a landform that reflected that reality...but as population levels rose dramatically and people built in more and more of the emerging township areas like this and others, including mangrove swamps were drained and partially filled in. The erosion in the swale/gulley reflects the volume of storm water we can get on an average season. I like raintrees (A. saman) because they have an odd collection of large physical characteristics that remind me of many other tree species...their root buttresses can be enormous, and they have a strong self grafting habit in their roots and limbs (I know common to many species!) which because of the speed of the increases in circumferential size is always pretty impressive.

Yes the hazard mesh was doubtless put there by council but the stakes or pickets have long since been "aquired" by some locals..... The Stuttgart Table is the book of values attributed to the wood tissues from various tree species that were researched in the development of the tree pulling (SIA) methodology. Now I don't know anyone who is qualified 'licensed' to carry out SIA projects here in Oz (there may be some but I just haven't heard of anyone) So my opinions are based on various published articles in journals and various failed attempts to engage the main men themselves, though I can perfectly understand their commitment to bill paying projects rather than curious antipodean arborists. I really do applaud the use of the system to support strongly posited VTA assessments and prevent what were IMO unnecessary tree felling decisions in some more public cases. So the values present calculations relating to the material properties of the live timber from particular tree species grown (not surprisingly) in the city of Stuttgart. These material properties are what through application of the modelling and the mathematical formulae enable the results of the strain gauge measurements during the pull test to provide a value as to the relative strength (or weakness) of the tested tree, the inclination values produced during the pull test together with the material properties derived from the table enable a calculation of the force required to effect windthrow of the entire tree.

Dave, I wonder if they are going to test sample tree unions to destruction or use some variation of the SIA methodology with their own version of the Stuggart Table? It would be very interesting if they did go in the SIA direction,and try to resolve some of the awkward modelling problems.... Staying with the biomechanics theme of the thread I shot this very basic view of an exposed root plate in the same park that the somewhat inadequate grafting shots were taken (these things look far more impressive in the bark!) I had to play around with the annotations since my voice over description fell well short of providing an accurate explaination of what I was looking at....no great insights but I am always interested to see how an individual tree has resolved some of its biomechanical obstacles. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxn73Fo1cXk]YouTube - Tree root morphology of Albizia saman[/ame]