BatiArb

Here you go......

How do you know this for certain ? This is absolutely NOT the open and shut (black and white) case that you present in this situation !!!!! I am not doubting the fact that A mellea was present at the time the tree failed, but to say it was ultimately and solely responsible for that failure is quite simply wrong. .

You beat me to it..... The doctors do not blame the common cold or gum disease for killing thousands of people, yet the infections are present at the time of death of almost everyone. Honey fungus is no different in the tree world. It is almost inevitable that it will be present somewhere when a tree dies. However, that is absolutely no reason to blame it for the death of the tree. The tree almost certainly started dying years ago when honey fungus was no where to be seen. . I totally agree and I love the analogies lol:lol: .

Tony, It is not a case of writing scientifically. After all many 'scientific' papers can be a real B to understand sometimes. The complexity of the language used is not a good thing, and they can fall into exactly the same trap as I was pointing out. I can be a bit pedantic at times when writing stuff down, but I frequently catch myself saying things that present far too black and white picture..... For me it was exploring into the bat world that first made me realise the extent of knowledge we have yet to gain, and then it became obvious that the fungi were just the same. More recently it has become apparent how much we also have to learn about our own natural ecosystem and our relationship with other organisms, not to mention the earth on which we live. As I said the important thing is to be aware that we need to describe of everything as it appears to us, with a respectful understanding that someone else is going to perceive things differently and we are never going to know who is truly 'right'. The wise man lives life with an open mind, without attachment to his own ideas and perspectives, totally prepared to be proven wrong at any minute and have his life's work disproven by someone who's thinking outside the box..... Keep up the good work Tony..... you are presenting a your perspective and some very valuable personal observations. Good Effort .

Tony, You did ask for comment about the descriptive language used it this thread.... I strongly believe that we MUST avoid the use of terms that describe the relationships between fungi and tree as one thing or the other. I consider it incredibly important that we ovoid statements that allow no space for an improved understanding of the situation. There was once a time when we considered all fungi to be diseases. Now we know that only a minority actually are. Parasitic fungi are not parasitic for all of their life cycle. Therefore should we actually be referring to them as parasites? I would suggest that they are simply fungi operating in a parasitic mode at that point in time or stage of their life cycle. What we as arborists need to understand it the conditions that occur within the fungal tree relationship that lead to the fungus operating in a parasitic mode. Or at least what we perceive to be a parasitic mode of decay. .

Fantastic photograph this one Tony.... I love it :thumbup:

. Well, how about considering the bad reputation I hispidus has when colonising the ripe wood of mature ash trees. Is this really justified? Yes, its decay strategy in Platanus sp. appears to be more selective and supposedly more predictable, but should we be more concerned about Fraxinus as a result or is it just different and actually not any more of a liability? . Fantastic thread Tony - keep it up..... the detours just reflect the complexity of life in our conditioned existence.... How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go......? .

. OK will here are a few more to keep you amused..... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u64HDXoKVM]YouTube - The Best Optical Illusions Ever[/ame] .

This is the explanation which is missing from the YouTube clip..... The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise? If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa. Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it. LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses logic detail oriented facts rule words and language present and past math and science can comprehend knowing acknowledges order/pattern perception knows object name reality based forms strategies practical safe RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses feeling "big picture" oriented imagination rules symbols and images present and future philosophy & religion can "get it" (i.e. meaning) believes appreciates spatial perception knows object function fantasy based presents possibilities impetuous risk taking

. OK I will have to try that one Can only make her spin clockwise myself. .

Have to agree there.... I can't help imagining the discussion in the science room when that was drawn up. . . This was a tree I drew while I was over at the ISAAC conference in 2008. Interestingly the tree is regularly used as a backdrop for wedding photographs. I have attached photographs below:

Well that's what comes of being dyslexic...... no way of getting away from that one. Although I have put some effort into it and can now catch myself doing it a lot of the time.... reading numbers back to front and that kind of thing.... it is still something that will crop up in silly places like that. Computer spell checks can only help you so much and in some situations it can actually make it worse. Ha Ho........ .

No I cannot manage that at all, no matter how hard I try, and not even with the assistance offered by the end of the clip. Maria on the other hand sees it spinning differently to me, but also can see it spinning both ways and cannot understand why I cannot. No just a glass of some weird green liquor made by French monks, that I found in the cupboard at the weekend..... 90% proof apparently. .

Here is something I stumbled across today, that has caused some debate and argument in our house. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CEr2GfGilw]YouTube - The Right Brain vs Left Brain test - Optical Illusion[/ame] Which way does the dancer spine for you..... ? .

This might provide a brief summary for those without the time for the full report: BBC News - Nature's gift: The economic benefits of preserving the natural world Not that it is not worth ready of course....... .

Doing very well thank you. Business is picking up and family life is great. Yes, I do really believe this is a scheme that needs all the encouragement and support that the industry can give it. In other countries it has been adopted with far more success than in the UK. I know we 'benefit' from a more comprehensive education and certification system, but the CA ensure the CPD is maintained and I think this is incredibly important as the industry knowledge moves forward so quickly. As you say I think it is invaluable for companies to invest in their staff and encourage their engagement in the Certified Arborist scheme. It would be really good if we could see adverts for jobs (as in other countries like US and Australia) that require applicants to be Certified Arborists. That just makes so much sense when it comes to ensuring the quality of applicants. .

For me the ISA has always been the organisation for practical arboriculture and one that supports the knowledge required for hands on tree work. The Certified Arborist scheme is a fantastic way of practical arborists maintaining demonstrating their level of background knowledge and their commitment to continued professional development. I think this is a natural progression for you Rob and for you to become a Certified Arborist now would mean that you would mean your effort put into the degree course will also double up as your CPD. Paul, What about encouraging the applicants for AAAC to demonstrate their staff are engaging in CPD. It strikes me that the Certified Arborists offer companies a fantastic structure for managing their employees CPD. .

Sorry Giorgio I was not intending to make direct reference to you methodology, simply referring to the process of using thermal imaging in that way. As your initial description indicates it is Thermography-aided tree assessment. I was avoiding using your branded TreeThermography by choosing a more generic 'Tree Thermography'. No intention on being picky or pedantic about this, just wanted to clear it up.... Now you have me confused.... what has the helicopter-flown application got to do with using computer modelling of thermal imaging data to allow a physiological assessment of trees that offers the ability for us to observe and understand their capacity for reactive growth? . Anyway this thread is flying somewhat off topic. I will contact you directly to discuss further. Best Wishes Andrew .

Giorgio, That's great as I have been corresponding with a number of arborists in Australia and I am now a regular contributor to the Australian ArborAge magazine, which has included articles on thermal imaging. Perhaps when you have trained them in Tree Thermography we can offer them the opportunity to use the software to extend the capabilities and enable them to undertake a full Thermal Tree Assessment.

I agree that no specialist software is required to extract and translate the pure temperature data from a thermogram of a tree. The key is to understanding what you are looking at and how the colours are applied to the thermogram to allow you to translate the temperature data in a way that makes any sense of the information when it comes to identifying areas of function and dysfunction within the tree. The Tree Thermography methodology that Giorgio has developed is the starting point for any Thermal Tree Assessment and he is without doubt the founder of the use of Thermal Imaging on trees. The software modeling that we use enables us to extend the benefits of thermal imaging to allow the temperature data within the thermograms to be used to calculate other factors that make the complete Thermal Tree Assessment a very effective tree management tool, that can inform: pruning decisions on timeing and volume of green foliage removal management of drought stressed trees (identifying drought in the first place and then ofering a tool to monitor the affects) the control of vascular diseases such as Bleeding cankers, etc the calculation of functional wall thinkness and percentage dysfunction (note this is not just decay) the calculation of water presure to determine timing of sap rise and fall (also related to timing of pruning) obvervations of the trees reactive ability to tolerate or respond to the presence of disease or decay (also the ability to respond to or tolerate pruning) and much much more Giorgio, Yes, as per our recent e-mail exchange, it was disappointing not to see you while you were in the UK. However, my work commitment just did not allow the time, let alone the expense of attending the conference. I really do not think the AA conference offerers anything close to value for money, and when you add the travel and lodgings to the cost of a day (if the interesting stuff is on one day) then there are far far better events held throughout the year which provide much much better content and represent real value (Not least of these are the seminars run by TEP:thumbup:)...... .

. Just a quick update….. There has been a lot of interest in the Training event in Brisbane and there is now only one place left. .

Climbing competition will be held on the Saturday (only) For more information call Navin on 07 830 344 669 .

Climbing competition will be held on the Saturday (only) For more information call Navin on 07 830 344 669 Good Luck.... .

Just turn up on the day..... Everyone welcome. The more the merrier. :laola:

Well it is the Weald Wood Fair next week. Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum :laola: Another year past as time goes by all to fast…… We will have our usual stand just into the woodland area so please come and say hallo. Meanwhile, Navin Sehmi of Touch Trees has organized a climbing competition, which will be held on the main lawn area of Bentley House just as you come into the wood fair. The competition is sponsored by Honey Brothers and the prize is either an MS200T or MS260 (depending on which CS units you have).