Treecreeper1961

There are, I'm told, truths in all the world religions that without manipulation or misinterpretation give fine guidance to anyone. It is the divisive misuse of religion by men that causes religion to turn bad. Many of those responsible are strongly selfdetermininst capitalists and worshipers of greed. We are blindly puppets.

It was meant as a joke really but we all need to look beyond ourselves and have a common goal I believe. If we are to evolve beyond the selfish destructive force we are. Not that you can't achieve that by being the master of your own destiny.

That's great Nick. At times like that we could all take strength from the good in religion.

The trouble with self determinism is it's open to corruption.

Man is in possession of a complex tool that requires a considerable degree of wisdom if it can be utilised without having a damaging effect on the ecology we are all part of. Religion has been a necessary means to control and direct the power we posses but I believe we are in the grip of a new sort of religion that threatens to destroy what we could be. Capitalism,greed, materialism, drive for constant growth, these are the ways of the modern day religion. Far better to believe in the teachings of the prophets than the colour of money. Those that do may find themselves in the minority but that is no bad thing when you consider the position of the majority. To learn about the wonders of the natural world and begin to understand that everything is indeed connected and interdependent might eventually put us on the right path. Life has a common origin and we will never escape that no matter how rich we become. The ability to accept the truth when we see it is something we surely all poses but often don't have the courage to acknowledge. It's too easy to lose your religion or hide behind it. When we are sustainable we will be there but will that ever happen?

This is not the Wales we know from years gone by, this is a new Wales with balls and steel. We are gonna take on the Southern Hemisphere I reckon.

Well done Wales. Yes!!!!!!

When the updated field guide arrived I read through it quickly and enjoyed every page. The trouble is I want to be able to understand and remember all of this stuff. I suppose they are both reference books really and when I refer back to them for real life scenarios a few times I guess it will eventually sink in. Perhaps I am making it a chore for myself by my approach. I have never been a big reader and I find that is a bit of a barrier sometimes, it doesn't come naturally to me to pick up a book but the the quest for learning is making me want to do it more and more, balancing a busy life probably means I am going to have to be more structured in the way I do it. Everyone is different I guess.

Industry has traditionally been the savior of our woods, we need to find more industry that can utilise wood and at the same time provide the ecosystem benefits that are the true value. Is that wood smoke I can smell?

A large tree can take up as much as 500 litres of water a day. A process of evolutionary genius driven by cohesive tension. Are these things smart or what? Trees: Magnificent structures | Natural History Museum

Currently reading a combination of the Updated Field Guide for VTA (soon to be passed to Sean) and the Body Language of Trees(still ongoing). Trouble is I am getting distracted all the time by this bloody arbtalk and I don't have a lot of time as it is. How do you guys find time to read? Do yo set aside reading time every day, is it a discipline?

Having the freedom to give an opinion on a scenario is crucial in the learning process for me and it is testament to you, Matt and all the members that anyone can do that. The great thing is that when you get it wrong or overlook something there is no doubt someone will be along to put you right! Most of the time. I tip my hat to Matt for telling us about this tree, politically sensitive it must be. What amazing work he is doing there.

Sounds like a good school to go to.

That is worrying, however, Kretz at the buttresses is not going to make it collapse like that and if the kids could reach the Ganoderma bracket, neither would that. Sounded like a wind damage/compession fork failure?? The other thing that I was going to suggest, or offer for discussion, is whether pollarding a mature Beech i a school grounds is going to be a long term viable management option. Instigating a severe reduction on an old beech can often fail, if then you are left with a large deadwood monolith this could be a dubious option. Monoliths are great in the right place, it may provide education and interest but before long it will have to be reduced, and reduced. Create habitat to take habitat away? It's a tricky one.

Sounds nasty, who'd be a professional tree inspector? It is a valuable tree, should really have a proper decay investigation before having a go at it in my opinion, the cost is the problem, and ongoing investigations etc.

It is a pretty good size cavity then. Have you got any information about assessing cavities. I will attach a tR ratio explanation, it might be of interest. The new BS3998 has highlighted the need to specify crown reduction accurately to remove any ambiguity for the operatives. It is a mature tree so the less you can remove the better and if the targets are assessed as low then keep the reduction small. However, the fact that the crown appears healthy and vigorous suggests there is or should be enough energy available to recover from a sympathetic reduction without too much damage to essential physiology or incurring stress that could lead to a succession of other effects. There is always the option to do a staged reduction over a period of years if a greater reduction of sail area is desired. Big wounds bad. 15% reduction better:thumbup1: tR Ratio.pdf

Hi Ranger, Always interesting to have an opinion on other peoples trees! It is difficult to comment on the trees with regard to targets from the photos. There is obviously a high level of usage around them but how close are the road and any paths? Perhaps I am jumping the gun, there are some issues though as you have highlighted with the photos. The cavity in tree one has got really good reaction wood around the opening which is good news of course. However, how extensive is the cavity? Can you estimate the radius of sound wood left intact? If it is anywhere approaching less than a third you should look at the tR ratio by Mattheck for guidance. Estimating remaining thickness is hit an miss at best, it's not just the cavity that you are considering but any decayed wood too. If the target values dictate I would say investigation with decay detection equipment is appropriate for this defect, especially as the vigorous crown and interesting bends in the stem add to the mechanical stress the stem must endure. As for the patterns in the bark, seems to me this is indicating buckling where the stem is being bent. Add that to the cavity and this tree could well be a candidate for a crown reduction to alleviate lever mechanical stress from wind loading, 30% reduction by volume or 12% radially,not removing more than 30% of live growth/leaf area. Tree two seems to be minor deadwood and old pruning wound decay concerns. Again dependent on traffic and access by you could consider reducing the branches with pruning wounds and shortening the dead wood to retain some for habitat. As for the ivy, this doesn't have any significance at the density and extent it is currently at. It is very good for wildlife and if your management regime allows it, it could be kept to a height of say 5 metres for biodiversity value. Only my opinion of course. Love to hear that of others.

Then there is always the question of whether the CS38 qualified groundie can actually climb proficiently enough to save your ass. When it comes down to bread and butter there are always hard choices to make. The harder times become, the tougher the choices get but we should all do what we can to raise the standards within the industry. I will happily climb without a rescuer and never expect to need one but accidents happen when we don't expect them! The reassurance of having someone you know can get to you, as well as share the work load, is something I have recently rediscovered after being without the luxury for a few years. We now also have two newly qualified aerial rescuers who can't climb. Climbing work has always been a little unpredictable with the company I work for, the volume of work varies every year and at the moment you never really know whats round the corner. I am not in a position to go freelance or start a business at the moment but I yearn for the freedom to make my own choices and work to standards I can be proud of. Don't get me wrong, I love the work and feel I am good at what I do but my eyes are wide open now.

Hi Matt, I know what you mean, but is there really any difference? Just testing the water really. In a round about low key kinda way.

Will bare it in mind.

Thanks for the empathy:laugh1: The pursuit of life is happiness and sadly that won't be achieved by doing what other people say when you don't agree with it. Bol#'cks

I reckon there is a big question mark over fertilizing trees. Specifying slow release fertilizer and broadleaf p4 may give fantastic short term results but will the long term outlook for the tree benefit from this?

Don't forget, some of us don't always prescribe the work we do and can't change the advice of a head strong "superior" or go and undermine them with the client!

OK, had a look. There is a long way between where he has cut and next lateral, long poles as he says to be fair. I find this difficult with some trees, they really don't lend themselves well to a sympathetic reduction. You either have stub cuts or you drop so far down you loose a natural crown and end up with isolated laterals/limbs. Sycamore I find can be awkward like that. I wonder what dictates the structure of the inner crown. Sympodial growth seems to create this outer arrangement of growth with nothing much originating from just within. That maybe my excuse for doing bad reductions. No, I've got a better excuse than that, ha ha.