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How old is this tree
I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be
removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? |
How old is this tree
Rupert wrote: I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? Each ring is a year. The closer the rings the slower the tree has grown. |
How old is this tree
The message
from "Rupert" contains these words: I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. No. Only the age of the branch. That being said, you can safely assume that the tree is older than the branch... As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. It depends on so many things, location and altitude, drainage, aspect, fertility of the soil, genetic make-up of the tree. So, not really. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? Get some slim glass nails over 2½ feet long and hammer them into the tree with a rubber mallet. Shine a torch into the shaft of the nail and count the rings? -- Rusty Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk Separator in search of a sig |
How old is this tree
In message , Rupert
writes I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? You can count rings on the branch, which will give you a minimum age for the tree. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
How old is this tree
Rusty Hinge 2 wrote: Get some slim glass nails over 2½ feet long and hammer them into the tree with a rubber mallet. Shine a torch into the shaft of the nail and count the rings? Just ask the bloody neighbours!! |
How old is this tree
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message k... The message from "Rupert" contains these words: I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. No. Only the age of the branch. That being said, you can safely assume that the tree is older than the branch... As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. It depends on so many things, location and altitude, drainage, aspect, fertility of the soil, genetic make-up of the tree. So, not really. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? Get some slim glass nails over 2½ feet long and hammer them into the tree with a rubber mallet. Shine a torch into the shaft of the nail and count the rings? How much bigger than 2.5 feet ? Every inch counts. Wouldn't it be better to get a 5 foot glass nail and go right through the tree :-) -- Rusty Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk Separator in search of a sig |
How old is this tree
"Martin" wrote in message ... On 5 Feb 2006 09:54:04 -0800, "La Puce" wrote: Rusty Hinge 2 wrote: Get some slim glass nails over 2½ feet long and hammer them into the tree with a rubber mallet. Shine a torch into the shaft of the nail and count the rings? Just ask the bloody neighbours!! LOL http://www.iit.edu/~smile/cb0598.htm "The age of the tree can be approximated by using the measuring tape to obtain the girth of the trunk at a point five feet above the base of the tree. This number is basically the age of the tree but bear in mind that this method does not work on saplings. Where possible the use of the tree-ring method on a cut tree could provide verification for the accuracy of this activity" "But ageing by ring counts often means felling the tree. Foresters do use increment borers to take a core sample about the width of a pencil from the outside to the centre of a living tree - that core or plug is then carefully extracted and the annual rings counted. The hole is then plugged again. http://www.rfs.org.uk/thirdlevel.asp...SecondLevel=66 "You can also get a pretty good idea of a tree's age from the girth of its trunk - how fat it is. Trees will grow at different rates depending on how good soil, shelter or climate are and if they enjoy space to grow freely or are hemmed in by neighbours. Trees grow faster when young and slow down in later life. Some species of tree are inherently fast growing. But as a good guide, broad leaved trees like oak, ash, beech and sycamore in UK woodlands put on about 1.5 to 2cm in circumference or girth per year. In open conditions, like parkland, the growth rate will be nearer 2.5cm annually. So by measuring the trunk circumference and dividing by 1.5, 2 or 2.5, you can make an informed guesstimate of age. This is Mitchell's Rule, named after the late world famous UK tree expert, Alan Mitchell." -- Martin Thanks that's what I wanted. I still might try the glass nail method. |
How old is this tree
"Rupert" wrote in message ... I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The branch will have been growing in the same conditions as the bole and the average number of rings per inch, from the branch, mutiplied by 30 [the radius of the tree in inches] will give a reasoned age. Best Wishes Brian. |
How old is this tree
In article ,
Martin wrote: On 5 Feb 2006 09:54:04 -0800, "La Puce" wrote: Just ask the bloody neighbours!! LOL One does, indeed, wonder as to the sort of neighbours that La Puce has. My mother had some beeches of that size cut down, as they were getting dangerous, and they were known to be 200 years old. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
How old is this tree
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... In article , Martin wrote: On 5 Feb 2006 09:54:04 -0800, "La Puce" wrote: Just ask the bloody neighbours!! LOL One does, indeed, wonder as to the sort of neighbours that La Puce has. My mother had some beeches of that size cut down, as they were getting dangerous, and they were known to be 200 years old. Regards, Nick Maclaren. Thanks that seems to fit with other data. |
How old is this tree
Nick Maclaren wrote: LOL One does, indeed, wonder as to the sort of neighbours that La Puce has. All sorts really. Rupert said his neighbours were throwing guesses at the age of the tree. I would listen to my neighbours for one is 81 years old and he has lived in my street all his life, the others opposite have been there 43 years. So yes, I'd ask my neighbours if they know or remember when the tree was 1. planted, 2. there when they first moved in, 3. if perhaps one knows how to give the age of the tree by looking at the branche, 4. I'd get a map of the local area to see which trees were planted where and when and finally, trees grow slowly or quicker depending of climate. |
How old is this tree
"Brian" --- 'flayb' to respond wrote in message ... "Rupert" wrote in message ... I have a big beech tree which will require one very large branch to be removed from the upper part of the tree. Can I glean any information from the removed branch as to an approximate age of this tree. As an alternative is there anywhere that gives approximate growth ring rates for beech . I know this method would not give a particularly accurate answer but it would be better than all the wild guesses made by the local neighbours. The circumference of the tree is 16 feet (taken at 4.5feet from the ground). Any scientific methods or even guesses please? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The branch will have been growing in the same conditions as the bole and the average number of rings per inch, from the branch, mutiplied by 30 [the radius of the tree in inches] will give a reasoned age. Best Wishes Brian. Thanks Brian. I will be fascinated to see how this formula and some of the others work when the branch is finally taken down. |
How old is this tree
In article .com,
La Puce wrote: LOL One does, indeed, wonder as to the sort of neighbours that La Puce has. All sorts really. Rupert said his neighbours were throwing guesses at the age of the tree. I would listen to my neighbours for one is 81 years old and he has lived in my street all his life, the others opposite have been there 43 years. So yes, I'd ask my neighbours if they know or remember when the tree was 1. planted, 2. there when they first moved in, ... Well, I suppose that you might not be aware that no tree growing in the UK of 16' in diameter 4+' up will be less than about 200 years old, but it is so. I thought that it was common knowledge. 4. I'd get a map of the local area to see which trees were planted where and when ... You might have more difficulty getting hold of a reliable, detailed late 18th century map than you seem to think. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
How old is this tree
The message
from "Rupert" contains these words: How much bigger than 2.5 feet ? Every inch counts. Wouldn't it be better to get a 5 foot glass nail and go right through the tree :-) No, you would never know where to stop counting, unless the rings are handily numbered, which I doubt. You have to assume that the centre of the rings is the centre of the tree (which it almost certainly won't be) and be very careful to aim the nail at where you believe the centre to be. Of course, the latest ones have a 'nail' with a sheathed and bundled fibre-optic construction, with the ends turned through 90°, and a screen to view the image, and the point of the 'nail' is guided by a GPS system, and a rubber hydraulic ram is employed instead of the old Forester's Glass Nail Mallet. You can still pick the old ones up at country auctions, but like the Skyhook, they are fast disappearing, to reappear screwed to the fake beams in theme pubs. Why, only last week at The Scrobbler's Apprentice they were using a job-lot of No3 spirit level bubbles in some cocktail or other. Entre deux Lunes, I think they called it. -- Rusty Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk Separator in search of a sig |
How old is this tree
In article ,
Nick Maclaren wrote: Well, I suppose that you might not be aware that no tree growing in the UK of 16' in diameter 4+' up will be less than about 200 years old, but it is so. I thought that it was common knowledge. I meant 16' in circumference, of course. I believe that there are none 16' in diameter that are not seriously hollow, and they are all close to or over a millennium old. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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