The theory is that trees will grow in a manner that allows them to be stable
in a given environment of wind exposure and soil type. So seashore trees
grow small and maybe windswept. Forest stand trees grow tall with poor taper
becuase they shelter each other. Meadow or savana trees grow broad and
spreading relative to height becuase they are in the open.
Change any variable... saturate the soil, create edge trees in a stand,
increase wind speed by climate chnage, freak storm or changing surrounding
surface roughness conditions... and trees may fail becuse that's not what
they were adapted to.
There's a great Churchill quote that goes something like "the solitary tree,
if it grows at all, grows strong," which was a metaphor for Britain.
SC
----- Original Message -----
From: Dominic Scanlon
To: UK Tree Care
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 6:21 AM
Subject: RE: Risk of windthrow
And you have to consider adaptive growth as well - does a tree on sandy
soil grow differently to one on a claey soil - so that it an stand up?
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