sean freeman

Not trying to derail your thoughts but consider the very real and negative impact of cow manure laced with wormicide chatting with Neville (2011) in a field on the flood plain here on the Gold Coast the topic came up. The Nicotinamide chemistry is not only disasterous for invertibrates it actually attracts them...double wammie:thumbdown:

Good luck Tony writing is both deeply rewarding and incredibly frustrating...my advice is to get yourself a good (experienced) editor...you might have to pay for that.

Almost certainly...we have 15 Peltigera species recorded in Australia, and I admit I did not examine the surface of the lichens using my hand lens (I'm pretty lazy and easily distracted by bigger lumpy things when in the woods!

Lovely pics Gerrit , have attached three shots from that walk at Burleigh Headlands... Best wishes for the holidays and 2012.

Thanks Gerrit, I am intrigued by lichens to be honest they certainly play a critical role in the degredation of minerals bound into rocks and seem so often to be over looked when it comes to measuring ecological diversity. A very specialised field and so for sure understandable that it should be somewhat removed from most commentators focus. Walking with folks that are captivated my lichens and miniture fungal fruiting bodies can certainly be a lot slower than most are used to....I know I can be very annoying to walk with when others are keen to get some exercise and a work out from their tramping. Recently took a stroll in one of the small and heavily stressed headland national parks not far from the office just after a rainstorm the rehydrated lichens on the granite boulders were truely beautiful...one was almost black and resembled seaweed. The Wandering Arborist: Burliegh Heads National Park

There are very few companies and even fewer individuals that take on the jobs that Sherbrooke Tree Services do. Those Eucs in Tasmania's SW are massive more than twice the size of anything I have climbed. Having met and briefly chatted to Graeme McMahon (this year) I can say he is a lovely friendly down to earth guy who has always had a passion to help the industry move forward. Yes he and Angus and the rest of the crew have the kind of work experience that is very very rare.

For low spreading lateral limbs where (for whatever reasons) there is not central branch architecture maypole rigging works best (IMO)...I prefer it to propping too in most instances. Been done quite a few times in the US Wolbert's Inc. - Clients and even here in Oz - Historic mulberry on Kangaroo Island SA (I have not done it nmyself since we have not encountered a client willing to reject the standard repsonse hard limb reduction)

Coprinus sp certainly make a lovely show wherever they pop up...one of my favs (of course!)

It seems inevitable that many discussions/arguements will go around and around for a long time, I remember reading about this necessary change in emphasis some years ago and honestly assumed most of us that deal with these issues in our daily work would have adopted dysfunction rather than decay. On the late Dr Shigo I have (it seems) often had the same discussion/arguement with numerous American Arbs...Alex Shigo clearly stated on many occaisions (including during his lecture tour of Oz in the early 1990's) that others should never stop the process of learning and development of ideas, that his ideas (specifically CODIT) were models for a dynamic ever changing (never balanced - unless dead) set of relationships. That people shold not simply believe his interpretations parrot like; but rather take his ideas and further develop them. I like to remember a man who lived to help others develop their understanding of the natural world around them, who would be saddened (and probably angered) by being placed on any kind of pedestal m- since that would work against challenging thought being applied. Francis Schwarze often makes the point that had Alex Shigo had access to the kinds of microscopy and successional microtomes which underpin Francis's analysis of fungi-host relations Alex might well have developed slightly different ideas about the interactions between specific decay fungi and specific tree hosts.

Here is a very simiilar exposed hive at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, apparently has been there for a number of years...I am amazed that birds have not picked them off, or that kids have not destroyed the combs. According to the Arb Curator noone has been stung (yet)

When I used to climb and cut for a living would fly reasonable often (internal flights); just remember to ensure all blades/sounding hammer go checked luggage. Back then we took our saws with us always an interesting experience depending on the airport checkin staff.

Absolutely true oxygen and the presence of pore space (macro and micro very very important...hence the relevance of having some idea of how the subgrade has been changed. Not all pavements are formed on the same foundation..(I know you know this). Your point about the mycorrhizal fungi needing 20 % more than fine tree roots and root hairs is something I have not heard before (certainly not quantified like that) are there any papers you can think of that make mention of this please, I would certainly like to increase the weight of evidence presented in certain real situations where trees are threatened by such construction.

For what its worth my experience has been that as David suggests bitumen (whilst it is definately not recommended surface treatment for tree health) is at the end of a list of construction issues that car park trees have to contend with and survive as best they can. It is not totally impermeable this is one (yes there are numerous others) reason why resurfacing programmes have a relatively short turn around period. It is also really important when considering how mature trees move water to recognise that direct surface perculation is not always the biggest factor in determining relative soil moisture through the subterranean profiles. Trees (particularly mature trees) move water vertically and horizontally, rehydrating soil volumes in tune with their own biological cycle (when relative soil moistures permit it that is). Unless catastrophic root damage has occurred we have seen mature trees (75-150yr old trees in suburban Oz) continue to persist for almost a decade after the construction blight occurs. When asked to assess car park trees it is critical to be able to understand what civil works went on (cut, fill, compaction etc..) and just how much of the subgrade has been 'transformed'...without that knowledge it is almost impossible to sensibly advise what the future might be for the tree concerned.

Yes m'lord... Sadly I perceive more than forelocks getting pulled here, as Gerrit rightly points out risk averse 'knee JERK reaction.

From my experience a good company and Michael is a skilled Arborist and a good chap.

Hi Dave, Veteran is a term that really has no definative age class...it can be useful to think of veteran trees as those trees that have been 'through the wars'....that is they have a physical record of past damage to their above ground structures...if you have the time and inclination try reading some of the articles in the links earlier in this thread from Treework Environmental Practice.

I agree with Tony but it is really important that more people realise just how varied the survival strategies of trees can be, it is just another aspect of ecology that is fascinating and personally I find it intriguing.

Gerrit this is a feature (the sinking) that occurs with Phellinus sp on many trees here in Oz too.

Wow excellent pics and what fantastic use of the habitat job well done by the crew keeping that one standing.

Excellent link thankyou Gerrit

Maths is not my strong point but I do remember having been hammered about the SI units at college and I think you'll find that there are 100,000,000 µm2 in 1cm2 which would mean that your estimate of >200 per square cm is really quite conservative and clearly possible.

Bollard more like. :>(

What a fabulous set of pics David!...and what a root plate, quite agree strongly suggestive of interplay between plane and decay fungi.

Does anyone have any pics of Eucs that have been pollarded or even attempts at Euc pollards?

A very serious problem there is no doubt..Neville Fay gave a good summary of the issues and the current level of understanding and management when he was out here. It is not clear (to me at least) if there have been any occurances in regions where Plane trees predominate the street scape (Adelaide for example). If foliar function/dysfunction were a significant indicator then there certainly would be an economically viable option using current software packages used in viticultural management.