elicokiz

As the song says "What doesnt kill you makes you stronger" like you i'm also a bit wiser unfortunately in my case a bit greyer too?

Biscuits on standby, thanks Mike:thumbup:

Thanks Charlieh, your reply is precisely the reason i started this thread, as it allows synergy of ideas.you guys know far more than me Regards Dave

Thanks Mike, the whole job sounds a little like a hot potato, there is no way i want a boot up the a** if i get it wrong. Will do as you mention and give them a ring. cheers Dave

Hi Folks has anyone any experience dealing with the higher level stewardship scheme[HLS]?I am trying to get my head around a job ive been asked to look at, it concerns a field which has been included within a HLS. The field is currently used for grazing sheep but has recently been managed for golf with associated plantings of mixed fairway trees. The field habitat is now designated as wood pasture and parkland, my understanding is that this is how it will need to be reinstated to comply with Natural England requirements. I also assume that the field must be renovated to a particular period in time? this in mind would i be correct in thinking all the exotic species that have been planted will have to be removed? if this is correct will i need to apply for a felling licence as we would remove in excess of 5 cubic meters or does this become irrelevant under the scheme? please rescue a poor horticulturalist from his ignorance. Regards Dave:blushing:

Hi guys Are their any additional regulations that apply to black poplar, as I was told it is one species that is covered by a census due to its scarciity? Dave

The chain must have shot a fair distance in the air as it seemed like several seconds before it hit the ground a good 30 ft from the stump.begining to think a keyhole slider may be damaged as there are four on the cable, will check it out on Monday Regards Dave:thumbup:

We had two break explosively luckily the guys were well out of the way of the cable as it rebounded...scary stuff and was realiy surprised they seemed to break so easily?.

Has anyone else used choker chains for winching out small diameter stumps? (<7cm dia dbh) having serious doubts about safety??? regards Dave:thumbup:

Well done Rob, it would have done me good to have been instructed rather than having to figure it out for myself,guess im just too old??

Thanks for the link pedroski that's interesting stuff, iwonder if the mychorrizae network that Paul Staments puts forward allows biofeedback to occur amongst all these entwined giants and that is partly why they are so productive?

OMG that is one awesome structure

Morning folks I have a couple of questions to ask if you could kindly humor me? (1) As it is posible for rubbing branches to inosculate should they be retained when carrying out pruning operations, personally i always discuss the pros and cons of both sides of the argument before making a decision? (2) As trees have to balance their mass and energy ratio, generally sucumming to pests and disease as they deplete nutrient avalability. Why is it posible that Seqouiadendrons are able to continue growing at such an astonishing pace when they have been taking nutrients from the same site for hundreds if not thousands of years?? sorry for the randomness of my requests..must have got out of bed the wrong side this am regards Dave

Hi Folks A large mature Beech at our site has what looks suspiciously like Ganoderma fruiting bodies in a large wound at the base of a compression fork, this occurs at about 15ft. There is no sign of decay or other fruiting bodies at the base of the tree. Is it common for Ganoderma to be discovered at height? or could this be another unrelated Genus of fungi ? Regards Dave

Thanks guys ..i'm amazed that at least I got the right Genus...fungi identification is something I need to spend more time learning? regards Dave

Thanks for your reply Lloyd, I was wondering what time the young would be born. We had another look [without disturbance] yesterday and found droppings which looked a little like those you would expect from a mouse? thanks again Dave

From Your descriptions we have a fruiting body which looks very much like Phellinus robustus on a mature Prunus cerasifera..any chance it can be found on this species?? will post photos if required. Dave:thumbup:

This may also be of intrest it was originally published in an edition of New scientist Fungal threads are the internet of the plant world GARDENERS, keep an eye on your tomato plants. There's no knowing what they are plotting underground. Some 80 per cent of plants are colonised by fungi that form the familiar network of fine white threads that hang off many roots. The threads, called mycorrhizae, take in water and minerals from the soil, and hand some over to the plant in exchange for nutrients. Now it seems plants use them to communicate too. Ren Sen Zeng and colleagues at South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, grew pairs of tomato plants in pots. The team allowed some pairs to form mycorrhizal networks between their roots. Plants connected this way can exchange nutrients and water, staving off the effects of drought. But Zeng wanted to know if the networks had any other function. The team sprayed one plant in each pair with Alternaria solani, a fungus which causes early blight. Sixty-five hours later, they infected the second plant and observed how well it coped. Plants sharing a mycorrhizal network were less likely to develop the blight, and when they did, symptoms were milder. They were also more likely to activate defensive genes and enzymes (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013324). The first plant was signalling to its neighbour, Zeng says, and he has dubbed mycorrhizae "the internet of plant communities". Although nobody knows how they pass signals, the networks could be more reliable and efficient than other plant-to-plant signalling systems. These include chemicals released into the air to warn neighbours of impending attacks - which Zeng blocked by encasing the tomato plants in airtight bags. Airborne signals are slow and depend on the weather. Roots can also release chemicals, though these do not travel far. Tomato plants talking over 'the internet of plant communities' were less likely to succumb to blight "The research is a milestone in our understanding of communication between plants," says Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She points out that intensively farmed plants don't have mycorrhizae. With access to ample fertiliser and water they do not bother to grow them. As a result, they may be missing out on health benefits. Together with Dan Durall of the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, Simard has shown that mycorrhizal networks can be enormous. Last year they found a network weaving its way through an entire Canadian forest, with each tree connected to dozens of its neighbours over distances of 30 metres (New Phytologist, vol 185, p 543). "It's a very robust system that could allow for the movement of signal proteins over many metres," Durall says. Mycorrhizal networks even tie together plants of different species, which means different species might be able to communicate with each other. Durall cautions that nobody has looked for Zeng's kind of communication outside the lab. But if the signalling system works as well in the messy real world as it did in the lab then many plants could well be chatting away beneath our feet.

Thanks for your reply...I didnt think of it being a maternity roost, that will have one of my colleagues fighting at the bit for a look? regards Dave

Check out this amazing video by the same producer of Home, it is simply stunning Of Forests and People - education - Home - Un film de Yann Arthus-Bertrand Dave:thumbup:

I am so honoured to be a teacher...I feel I can do a lot to help reverse some of the damage we have done in the past. very powerful stuff, as the man says...thanks for posting it

A learner was climbing one of our mature beech tree a couple of weeks ago and held onto a branch which was almost fused with its compainion, leaving a narrow open strip on the underside. When he placed weight on the branch we could hear audible squeeks 20 meters below. I was under the impression that bats made a clicking noise when they where alarmed, however it was the first warm day of the year and was just wondering if anyone else has come across such a phenomena? Dave I will be quite happy if they are bats, as a work colleauge was looking into felling the tree

Hi folks Seeing as Rob found this on the floor beneath a tree got me thinking, do these things detach themselves when they get to a particular size? can they be detached without wounding the tree or do they leave an open wound which may lead to decay?? regards Dave p.s the carving is awesome must be influenced by chinese/ japanese minitures?

Hi Timber Cutter, as I stated in my original post i'm trying to get my head around the subject as it would seem many people have differing opinions as to what a wolf tree is? It is intresting that you mention split leaders as I have begun to wonder if the term is widely used in the industry as a blanket term to identify trees for selective felling during first thinnings ect? Thanks for your reply regards Dave:thumbup: