Treecreeper1961

Yeah thats what I take it to be. So you reckon in some circumstances an internodal cut is better than natural target pruning? You would have to be dropping a long way to that crotch. Gonna have another look at that photo.....

What do you mean by "larger cuts as in the drop crotch style" Hama? I take drop crotch to mean reducing back to the next union or lateral, target pruning really. Have I got that wrong?

Let me at it with a pair of spikes and an ms200t and there will opportunity galore for saproxylic species in a few years.

You have to admire the effort that tree is making to save itself. That transverse crack almost goes all the way down, it must be investing so much of its resources welding that crack every year.

You do some really cracking work, fair play. Again, I suppose a lot of the side growth was done with a decent pruning saw and poles? I bet it was awkward getting some of it down to the ground. Fairly confined. How long did it take? Great to hear the wounds were well occluded. The benefit of making small diameter cuts in areas of the crown that are vigorous. Don't forget though, trees don't heal, they seal and reinforce to restore uniform stress.

Nice work. Must be great to have something like that. Some nice firewood from first thinnings, what have you got there, ash and oak, is there elm there?

Seems like the accepted solution is to add up the cross sectional area of all the stems and then use the 12x multiplier as per single stemmed trees. That is not really what I was expecting but I guess it makes sense. Any comments???????

Another question I have about RPAs: Bundle planting. If you come across a tree that appears to have been a bundle planting (multi stemmed, no clear unions above ground or with 2 inches of soil removed, stems tightly appressed against each other but gaps strongly suggesting bundle) how do you assess that in terms of working out an RPA? a)Measure around base of all stems as if a multi stemmed tree or b)Measure stems individually. c)Use of own judgement as to the required rooting volume. Thing is there is massive potential area differences between a and b. There is no guidance on this in the document or on whether trees close to each other should have accumulative rpas or share each others space. Could really do with some advice on this:confused1:

There is a ride at Oakwood theme park similar to this, Vertigo its called. Bloody good fun. The impact load is minimal though. I suppose there must be a fair bit of stretch in those ropes.

There is some interesting stuff in the report, really good pointers for anyone sitting again, wish I had paid more attention to them, would have saved a lot of wasted time on data collection. The thing that annoyed me about the report was that the first paper states the pass rate but many others do not. Whats the point in that? Do these examiners read their own reports?

The modern day farmers lung waiting to happen perhaps? Miners of the last century suffered from the same sort of issues. Does make you wonder.

Absolutely hilarious! Can't help wondering about the friction though, I wonder how they get round that?

As far as I can make out a lot on the issues that may arise between client and arb. are due to a lack of understanding of the full intention of the application of the standard as a series of steps that "flow in a logical order". The problem seems to me that if a developer doesn't understand that there is a difference between the tree survey, the tree constraints plan and the tree protection plan and that the process requires thought, communication, negotiation and compromise then the process of the BS5837 is a shambles. The tree survey and production of a tree constraints plan should be totally objective as far as I can make out. Following design consideration of the tcp and the desired development there should then be an element of subjective input to reach the best compromise for all concerned, trees, cost implications and greater benefit to society. As far as I am aware this is where improvements in the implementation of the standard are required and I gather from discussion on here that the revision of the document is geared partly toward that.

I'm not sure about the trees although I would not totally rule it out at this stage. The spots on the rhodi. more likely to be Rhododendron leaf blotch. Check out the information on Phytophthora ramorum on the Forestry Commission website, good photos of leaf symptoms.

Yes, of course. If BS5837 does not have an adjustment for species and condition it is far too rigid. Our scale slides down to .5 for tolerant species, and up to 1.5 for old vets. I like working with infill development, because I do not like urban sprawl. Treeseer, As far as I am aware there is no clear guidance regarding varying RPA for different species. Paul, how do you work out a smaller RPA for a more shrubby species?

I'll pm you my location.

Noted, cheers.

Sure, glad about that. Wasn't suggesting otherwise but it crossed my mind.

Mate, if you want to travel hundreds of miles to see them I would gladly show you. If you want to do some voluntary rhodi. bashing just for the good of the woods whilst there, great! A bad job gone wrong, nightmare. If you ever want to come to West Wales I have an old, slightly damp caravan that you are welcome to kip in.

According to some sources S.coccinea is edible. Not sure about the other sps. though.

I am seeing so much of this at the moment, it is a great fungi, brightens up an otherwise dire job that is becoming a real bind.

How do freelancers get around the need for an aerial rescuer? Or shouldn't I ask.

One of my fave things to do when out and about is try to determine which trees will fail first in a given population, this wood today is right up my street as they say! This cherry, Prunus avium is being brown rotted by Laetiporus sulphereus, a rot that P. avium never survives indefinatley without serious structural modifications. The language in this is clear, major decay and hollowing ( though not hollowing in the true sense, just modified wood) with shear cracks forming on the tension sides as she delaminates before she goes down. Its the body language that guides us, too much work is proposed with little attention to thorough reading of the structures of trees, they will tell you when they are in trouble, there is always a sign, you just have to listen. Becoming very familiar with the trees in your local woods and practising this is the best possible experience you can gain, there is no risk to anyone from the trees in the wild woods and you can re visit them for years and years and perfect your skills. In time youll learn what defects are truly worth worrying about and which are a long long way from becoming an issue. and if your wrong and it fails or if your right, it doesnt matter, you will gain everytime. :thumbup1:Very wise words. If in a hurry to learn just stalk Hamadryad.

Thanks Paul, useful food for thought. If these surveys are now boring you what work are you enthused by? Tree condition and health care? Cheers.

My kids put themselves to bed nowadays and Your reply doesn't bore me. Thanks.