Hi Bill
<<I'm afraid I have to take issue...I've confessed to this before but I and
my cohorts have 'topped' quite a lot of big old trees and I struggle to
think of ones we've killed. Even some of the Beech we've topped for niche
habitat creation have continued to grow despite the death of the tree being
the objective. Admittedly we always tried to leave as much foliage as
possible and we didn't turn them into telegraph poles but it can't all be
luck can it?
The big old Oaks we topped in Chatsworth were already dying back before we
got there but they've survived. This may suggest some other process
stimulated by the die-back?>>
I think we've debated this one before Bill, where I argued that old/mature
trees that survive topping probably do so 'despite' the treatment, not
because of it. And the brief period which we administer trees is commonly a
fairly short period relative to their lifetime. So their vulnerability to a
premature demise, as a consequence of such work might not be so apparent
(There's an interesting possibility here, where the stimulation of a barrier
zone by such work, although a short term disadvantage, can be very
beneficial if the tree survives, and may convey structural longevity).
Certainly, one the main problems that has been faced by those who administer
to veteran trees and try to bring them back into some kind of management
before they collapse, is the all too frequent fatality associated with
excessive but well intentioned pruning.
<<Your 'mortality spiral' analogy David is pleasing and attractive but it
seems that my perception of this analogy as 'decline' being some sort of
'black hole' from which there is no escape is, at least in the case of
venerable Oaks, somewhat wide of the mark.>>
Similarly, I think I've said this before. I know we're in the depths of
winter but I don't reckon your perception should be so coloured. Try not to
think of a mortality spiral as an inescapable 'black hole'. Or a gateway to
another dimension, for that matter. The analogy that I prefer to use is
that of an aircraft in a tailspin. Such pruning is not necessarily
terminal, it just increases (and unnecessarily so) the chances of it being
the case.
<<Oh to have the time (or the invitation) to get back and inspect some trees
that we topped 10 or 15 years ago.>>
I'm still holding you to your invite to come and have look at some of these
trees, when I'm in the area. I'm planning a late spring trip towards your
neck of the woods, once the glaciers have thawed and retreated somewhat, and
I look forward to catching up with you again.
Cheers
Acer ventura
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