Paul Melarange

Thanks very much David for your kind words. It was great to work with you and the team at Hampstead Heath. Have a great Easter. All the best, Paul

Hi Gary, Thanks very much for your kind offer. I may well take you up on it. Leave it with me. I'll keep in touch with you and Silky fox and maybe can sort something in a couple of months time? It would be great if you could send me a link to the Picus research that you found. All the best, Paul

Sounds good. I will do, cheers 👍

Cheers 😃 it is a really good bit of kit. Where are you based Silky? It would be great to meet you as well as test some of your dismantled/felled trees.

Hi All, A few of you will be aware that, for a few years now, I have been using Picus sonic tomography, combined with the tree statics model, to assess the fracture stability of trees. A couple of months ago I purchased an alternative to the Picus - a Rinntech’s Arbotom impulse tomography unit. A little more information is available on my website: The Arbotom | News | Think Trees I have used the equipment quite a bit and I’m really pleased with the results that have been obtained with it. However, I would really like to test some trees that are due to be removed so that I can compare the tomogram (image showing the sound transmission properties of the cross-section) with the actual cross-section of the cut stem. I am looking for trees of any species from approx. 40cm (16”) dbh upwards. If anyone is due to remove any trees in the East Herts, West Essex, High Wycombe or East Oxon areas, and would be happy for me to test them prior to their removal and then to view the cross sections after felling, please let me know. I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance. Paul

Please could you share the information that you have on the forum? As I'm sure there are lots of us that would be interested.

I'm booked onto this one too, so look forward to meeting you both 👍

Old fruiting bodies of the fungus Bulgaria inquinans? http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/tree-fungi-134.html

Give Graham Underhill a call. He is a chartered arboriculturist and isn't too far from you. http://www.underhilltreeconsultancy.com/

Fraxinus excelsior 'diversifolia'

Thanks for the facts on Cladoptosis Chris, really interesting 👍

Haha, I just help myself! 😀 I agree Gary. I doubt SIA will ever become as common place as sonic tomography etc simply because the cost is always going to be prohibitive. It will always be the best way to assess tree stability though! 😀

If the crown is quite sparse, this would indicate reduced vitality. Trees with reduced vitality are less able to compartmentalise decay/dysfunction and offer less resistance to pathogens. I think it is important that you have the tree assessed by a suitably qualified, experience and insured arboriculturist (tree consultant). However, going on the information that you have given us, it sounds like the tree should probably be removed. Chris (Kveldssanger) makes a really interesting point, and it's why beech with Meripilus should not automatically be condemned. Really great advice 👍 although it would very much depend on the current condition of the root zones. Mulching is a good idea (unless on waterlogged soils). Aeration or decompaction may only be necessary if there is already significant soil compaction. Mulching on its own may well act as a natural inoculum of mychorizzal fungi.

Statics Integrated Assessment (SIA) otherwise know as a static load test or pulling test, is likely to be the most effective way of determining the current stability of the tree. Would it be possible to post of photograph of the whole tree? It would be really useful to see what the crown looks like as it may indicate what the vitality/health of the tree is like. If the vitality is poor, it is probably not worth spending the money on further investigation. However, if the tree demonstrates normal vitality it might be worth considering.

I'd also like to see a fact or two relating to the shedding of plant parts please Chris, particularly cladoptosis if possible 👍

Blimey! That was a creepy post! But I think I might have worked out who 10 Bears actually is.....JM?

Being dyslexic, I am more than happy to leave you guys to argue about the semantics, grammar, spelling and syntax of posts. To be honest I'm quite surprised that I managed to spell 'paragraph' correctly! 😄

I love this paragraph 👍

I considered this when writing my earlier post. My thinking was that herbicides such as Glyphosate supposedly break down quite quickly and therefore probably wouldn't affect significantly the colonisation of the killed roots by decomposers. However, on reflection, I've been wondering whether this is indeed the case. I recon it would make an ideal research project for a degree student or even a level 6 diploma............Gary? 😀 It was really good to finally meet you the other day. Hope you found the workshop sessions at the conference useful?

Unless tree roots are causing direct damage to structures I.e. the incremental growth of the root is displacing and/or distorting what is immediately adjacent to it (such as paving or a brick wall), it is not so much about the roots themselves but more about the influence of the trees water uptake on the soil and the changes in soil volume associated with this. Obviously if a cut tree regrows the water uptake will gradually increase, if you kill the tree, regardless of using poison or not, the uptake of water will cease. Poison is unlikely to affect the rate that roots break down in the soil. So in terms of roots that might be causing direct damage I shouldn't think it would make any difference either.

I've just looked at the photos again, and I now see what MattyF means. In this case, if the tree actually does require any crown reduction, MattyF's suggestion of around a third would work quite nicely. It would just remove the two 'blobs' that protrude from the rest of the crown. So apologies, I should have taken more notice of the first pic.

It looks to be a great example of a veteran tree. The decayed wood in the large open cavity is what is referred to as 'brown rot' and is an important habitat for, often quite rare, saproxylic invertebrates (beetles etc). It is impossible to tell from a photograph what the stability of the trunk is likely to be. However, it is quite possible that it is strong enough to resist the wind loading of the crown as its current size. If the residual wall of the decayed trunk is so thin that it's strength is significantly reduced, crown reduction would be a good idea. However, in terms of crown reduction of old trees for stability - less is more. So a reduction in tree height of approx. 10% would probably reduce the wind load by enough to lessen the risk of tree failure, whilst still maintaining enough foliage to ensure the tree can function properly I.e. producing enough energy through photosynthesis to grow properly and resist pathogens. I would avoid going as hard as a 30% reduction, but without actually seeing the tree it's impossible to make specific recommendations. I'm actually jealous, I'd love to have a tree of my own like this 😀

Most of the photos just show historic bark damage, likely to have been caused by machinery or animals. This damage is not necessarily an indicator of poor health in itself. If the wounds are not occluding then it's a bit different. The last image (0785) shows a tree that appears to have had a massive reduction, which is likely to have resulted in massive amounts of dysfunction in the stem. It is no wonder patches of bark have fallen off!

So near yet so far! 😔

You lucky thing! I'm well jel! 😀 I'll be there Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days appear to have great lecturers and are on subjects that are right up my street. I'm assisting Paul Muir with a static load test demo on the Wednesday, so not sure how much I'll get to see of the morning lectures. Enjoy the rest of your trip 😃