I see it's an interesting topic for discussion and debate.
And I agree with most things people have been saying.
It would appear that we should thin all Monterey pine then, because healthy
Monterey's can't tolerate wind loading. Surely if wind is strong enough to
break a branch, the branch will break. To reduce the likelihood of the limb
breaking, would you not have to thin to such an extent that the tree could
be more vulnerable to failure anyway (the dead tree standing after a
hurricane scenario)? If the wind is strong enough to break a healthy
nondefect branch, is that an act of god?
Trees have been evolving for 100s of 1000s of years, and we know the more
foliage a tree has the more wood it can produce for strengthening and
reserves it can store.
I am very wary of any crown thinning of pines and conifers, one of the main
overriding paranoia's of mine is that it is such a difficult operation to do
well and once it's done, done bad, it can not be corrected, potentially
jeopardizing the integrity of the tree for its remaining life.
I think 15%CT is too much for a pine, one point being from an aesthetic
view, changing its typically recognized growth characteristics, creating a
tree with a rather sickly appearance.
I've seen the effects of lion tailing recently on a Beech (Fagus sylvatica),
where consent was granted for a crown lift to 4m above ground level, one of
the lowest primaries was stripped of its low, pendulous secondaries and this
must have altered the dynamics of how the limb reacts to wind load and the
changes in the wood, properties in the region of wounding living to dead
branch cores etc, because cracks had begun to form and what appeared to be
ribs of force flow and growth striations elsewhere on the branch, all recent
changes.
I take your point Jeremy on your observation that the thinned trees fared
better in the hurricane. Do you think we should be allowing CT just in case
there may be a Hurricane and that any unthinned tree is at greater risk?
Grrr...
Was at Travis gig last night, very good, but a bit grizzly this morning, too
many Stella, I think was her name...
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Barrell [mailto:jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.co.uk]
Sent: 19 March 2004 16:47
To: UK Tree Care
Subject: Re: 15% crown thin Monterey pine
As Russ says, 15% is hardly more than a crown clean. I believe this is the
sort of pro-active approach to tree management we should be encouraging
where there is an elevated risk of damage through exposure or proximity. Of
course, in an ideal world with bags of space and other ways to minimise
risk, doing nothing to the tree is often a sensible option. But that is not
where we are, is it?
In arriving at this view, I draw on some sobering lessons learnt in 1987 and
1990 where some massive Monterey pines and Holm oaks blew down in the South.
What was interesting was that we had done a lot of thinning in the few years
leading up to that and the thinned trees fared very well, Ilex Way at
Worthing being a memorable example. I find it is very easy to get carried
away with attractive sounding ideas and concepts but it is often useful to
sit back and review them in the light of what happens beyond the text books.
My experience is there is little doubt that thinning has significant
benefits and should not be dismissed lightly. It seems a shame that we may
need another hurricane to learn again what history has already taught us!!
Jeremy
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E-mail: <mailto:jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.co.uk> jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.co.uk
Telephone: 01425 650008
Fax: 01425 652162
Website: <http://www.barrelltreecare.co.uk> www.barrelltreecare.co.uk
Barrell Treecare
Appletree Cottage
Godshill
Fordingbridge
Hants SP6 2LW
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