Issue 11

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Issue 11

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June 2007 I would like to welcome you to another issue of TotalArb: a World of Trees and I am pleased to say that all the hard work we put into the last issue was rewarded with some very positive feedback. However, I must first apologise for a few spelling and grammatical errors that still crept in. We make every effort to ensure the publication is thoroughly proof read but there were still some last minute typing errors that expose my dyslexia in issue 10.

More importantly it was a technical misinterpretation that appeared in my editors intro, which my dad pointed out when my wife and I went around to my parents for dinner. On asking what he thought of the magazine, his first comments referred to my introductory paragraph that said that trees have the “capacity to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen”, which is not scientifically correct. Well, that is what you get for having a retired university lecturer for a father. And because, he taught botany and has a doctorate in fungal biology, there really was no way I was going to cover up that blunder.

In my defence the mistake I made was to reinforce a common misconception for the reason that trees (like all green plants) absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then release oxygen. It does give the impression that they convert one into the other.

However, the point is that I had forgotten some of my basic training in arboriculture and overlooked the more involved chemical process of photosynthesis. As a result of this rather embarrassing moment over the dinner table, I went back to my reference books and produced a new section for the magazine called Fact File, where you will find the process of photosynthesis explained in detail.

Also in Fact File, you will find an explanation of why trees do not ‘heal’ themselves, and this was stimulated by an article I read in another arboricultural magazine, which referred to the “healing process in trees”. Now this is something that I have a technical issue with, because healing is not a descriptive term that can be used to describe the growth processes of a generative organism such as a tree. I would therefore like to repeat here a phrase used by Jack Kenyon, a renowned lecturer at Merrist Wood, who reinforces the point by saying “Trees do not Heal they Seal”. The task of explaining this, in the Fact File section, then lead me to explore the Axiom of Uniform Stress, which is a descriptive idea that I first read about in the book ‘The Body Language of Trees’ by Claus Mattheck, in 1994.

Meanwhile, the opportunity we offered you in our last issue, to rant and rave, really did inspire a few people and we have included a nice selection of rants that follow a similar theme. The unnecessary loss through felling and damage done by excessive pruning to some of our country’s most significant trees is clearly starting to wind a few arborists up. The old excuses of health and safety or subsidence risk should no longer be enough to justify otherwise pointless tree work. After all arboriculture is about tree care, isn’t it?

Lastly I would like to introduce myself as a nineteen year old student at Merrist Wood College. This photograph was taken when I was studying in my first year of the National Diploma course in Arboriculture. You might rightly ask why am I letting you see this photograph, well Merrist Wood is celebrating its 40th academic year of teaching arboriculture, and Andy Pinder has been looking through the photographic achieve. Find out more on page 8.

For Editorial contact: Andrew Cowan: telephone: 020 8462 7262 email: editor@totalarb.co.uk For Advertising contact: Dal Parmar: telephone: 01543 500255 or 07908 168948 email: dal@totalarb.co.uk Total Arb Magazine is published by Total Arb Limited, Coppice House, Teddesley, Penkridge, Staffs ST19 5RP

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

Contents News

4

Showdown

14

Fact File

18

Feature

20

Development

26

Tree Care

32

Kit Matters

36

Associations

40

Job Finder

46

Rants & Raves

48

Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, neither Total Arb nor its authors can accept any responsibility for errors or omissions. The views expressed in Total Arb magazine are not necessarily those of Total Arb Ltd. There is no unauthorised reproduction, in any media whatsoever, in whole or in part, permitted without the written consent of Total Arb Ltd. If you feel that your copyright has been infringed in any way you should contact the editor. We undertake to remove from our publication or website any images or written media that have inadvertently infringed copyright or to give appropriate credit(s) where applicable. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcomed, but no responsibility can be accepted from them, however delivered.

Total Arb magazine is independent of all political parties, private interest groups and government.

It has no affiliation to commercial interests other then its own and represents no organisations or associations. Our policy is to provide news and information to our readers in a balanced manner.

If you find any error of fact in our pages you should contact the editor by telephone, letter or email. We undertake to correct errors promptly and to issue apologies, where deemed appropriate.

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News The VTA Elite Between the 21st and 24th May a dedicated group of arborists attended an intensive master class in Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) lead by Claus Mattheck and organised by Mick Boddy of Symbiosis Consulting www.symbiosis.gb.com.

The event was held at Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, and was sponsored by ARBORtrack SYSTEMS Ltd www.arbortrack.com.

The first day was spent indoors with an exhaustive series of lectures at the Field Head Hotel, Markfield, near Leicester, introducing a new VTA field guide in the morning and covering tree engineering aspects in the afternoon.

The following three days where spent in the field, primarily in the historic Bradgate Deer Park and adjacent woodlands, and included practical exercises on symptom detection, defect confirmation and evaluation, failure analysis of broken or windthrown trees.

Delegates were subject to an oral examination during the final day and, upon satisfactory completion of this, they obtained a certificate confirming their status as a 'VTA practitioner with elite training' provided by the master himself Claus Mattheck.

Is this the safest Karabiner in the World?

This new, innovative spring locking karabiner has been recently launched on to the UK market. It has been designed by the manufacturer (ISC) as a main attachment karabiner between ropes and harness. The two spring-loaded barrels are free to spin, alleviating the possibility of the rope passing through the karabiner rotating the twist-lock gate to open accidentally.

Operation of the springlock requires the outer barrel to be pushed up over the black barrel to get a perfect alignment of the internal mechanism. As pressure is released on the outer barrel allowing it to drop back slowly, a sideway force from the thumb pushes the gate open.

Quentin Nicholis, Mark Ashman, Byron Harris, Arno Spaakogel, Andrew Cowan, Mark Lee, Bruce Hatton, Paul Odom, Lesley Adams, Dave Glover, Simon Ringrose, Claus Mattheck, and Leo, Mike Ellison, Keith Sacre, Andy Smith and Roy Finch - Mick Boddy behind camera.

Oak beats ash to first leaf.

The magnificent spectacle of oak and ash trees coming into leaf together may be a thing of the past because of climate change and record temperatures.

The following rhyme shows that, for many country people, the two trees were early weather forecasters. "If the oak before the ash, then we'll only have a splash, if the ash before the oak, then we'll surely have a soak."

So, if the oak buds appeared first, the summer would be dry. If the ash appeared first, we were in for a damp summer.

Scientists at the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, at Monks Wood in Cambridgeshire, have records stretching back to the 18th century. Then, the race between oak and ash was a far more equal one, with milder, wetter weather allowing the ash to win 40% of the time. However, climate change may have now made that a very unequal competition.

"Oak now wins 90% of the time," says the centre's Tim Sparks. "Ash has shallow roots and so oak does much better in drier conditions. "In addition, the ash will lose out as the oak leaves, which have matured earlier, can then get more sun and use up more of the available water."

Mr Sparks says “ash trees could die this year, up and down the country, if the weather stays dry. This could be an indication of how some of our traditional native habitats could change as climate change takes hold�.

ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs Q: What is the difference between a geneologist and a gynecologist?

A: A geneologist looks up your family tree and a gynecologist looks up your bush.

Some find it impossible to open at first but within minutes you will master the knack of its one handed operation. Buy one now and find out for yourself.

4

A young girl sees her father in the shower and asks what his testicles are.

"Those are the apples of the Tree of Life," he tells her, by way of poetic concealment.

She tells this to her mother, who replies, "Did he say anything about that dead branch they're hanging on?"

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Development of a National Strategy Last year the Arboricultural Association held a meeting of some 40 stakeholders from all sectors of the industry to discuss, in broad terms, the way forward for arboriculture in the UK and Ireland. Discussion was focussed on three main subject areas – a result of pre-meeting consultation with all invitees: 1. Outreach 2. Controlling Professional Standards 3. Education and Training.

A record of the meeting, a list of interests represented and attendees is posted on the Association’s website at www.trees.org.uk/downloads/wayforward.pdf.

As the AA considered the implications of last year's meeting, what became apparent was, that a coordinated strategy for arboriculture was needed. As there has never been a national strategy for arboriculture the Association proposed that its development would start by the meeting of interested parties where topical issues would be discussed so that over time, a strategy may emerge from a series of policy decisions resulting from such meetings.

The Arboricultural Association arranged and funded the inaugural meeting in May of what might be called the National Strategy Group (NSG). With no formal constitution the first meeting set out to ! have as its objective the production of a strategy document ! elect its own chair ! have the power to add or dismiss members by majority vote ! have the power to delegate to sub-groups ! at appropriate stages invite consultation on its proposals.

The NSG will meet again to draft its constitution and begin work in earnest on the development of policies that will form the backbone of a National Strategy for Arboriculture. This is unlikely to happen quickly as it is a huge

If you love trees as well as work with them, then you should subscribe to

job and the waters as yet uncharted. Consultation will form a key part of the process and it is hoped that all sectors of the industry will take part.

List of attendees – National Strategy Group, 8 May 2007 Arboricultural Association (Rhoderic Taylor) Arboricultural consultants (Jim Quaife) Arboricultural contractors (Jonathan Hazell) Arboricultural education (Rhoderic Taylor) Consulting Arborist Society (David Lloyd Jones) Department for Communities and Local Government (Peter Annett) Department for Communities and Local Government (Tom Simpson) Institute of Chartered Foresters (Shireen Chambers) International Society of Arboriculture (Ian MacDermott) Lantra Sector Skills Council (Madge Moore) National Association of Tree Officers (Mike Volp) Tree Council (apologies)

Chartered Status The Arboricultural Association is proud to announce that from 1 June 2007, it can award Chartered Environmentalist status to its Professional Members and Fellows.

The Arboricultural Association has been licensed by the Society for the Environment to award the coveted Chartered status to any of its Professional Members and Fellows who can demonstrate competence in sustainable environmental policies and practices.

Dr Peter Matthews, Chairman for the Society of the Environment, explains “To achieve a sustainable future we all know that we have to re-think our lifestyles and behave differently; be it at work, home, or play. Sustainability is about the integration of environmental, social, and economic components of our lives and finding ways in which we can advance civilization without destroying natural diversity and depleting scarce natural resources of our planet. It is about low impact but not low output.”

“This is a monumental achievement for the Association and its ability to care for the environment” says Arboricultural Association Director Nick Eden, “But it’s not just of benefit to the environment; it’s about enabling our members to become chartered and thereby to stand with other Chartered professionals on a level playing field.”

To become a Chartered Environmentalist through the Arboricultural Association, an applicant must: 1. Be a Professional Member or Fellow of the Arboricultural Association; 2. Have at least four years relevant experience; 3. Hold relevant academic qualifications; 4. Be able to demonstrate knowledge of, competence in, and engagement with, sustainable management of the environment; and 5. Agree to comply with the Society of the Environment’s Code of Ethics and the Arboricultural Association’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.

Chartered Environmentalists can use the style CEnv after their names. The cost of assessment for Chartered Environmentalist status is £200, with an additional £125 if an interview is necessary. The Arboricultural Association expects to be able to determine applications within 90 days through its panel of six licensed assessors. Applications from non-Arboricultural Association members are welcome if accompanied by an application for Professional Membership.

Britain’s long-established voice of arboriculture, woodland conservation, forestry fauna and flora and so much more...

SAVTE O UP

22%!

It’s so easy to subscribe – and save up 22% on the normal cover price – just phone 0845 126 0396, or log onto www.treenews.org.uk and click on ‘SUBSCRIBE’

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

Further information and application forms are available to download from the Arboricultural Association’s website: www.trees.org.uk

ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs What did the hurricane say to the palm tree?

Hold on to your nuts, this is no ordinary blow job!

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In brief In brief In brief Global Reaches Number 1 Slot!

Bandit Industries have been manufacturing Shredders and Chippers for over 21 years’ and have sold over 40,000 units world-wide.

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Ancient Tree Hunt The Ancient Tree Hunt is involving thousands of people to find and map ancient trees across the UK, galvanising interest in local heritage, landscape and conservation.

Arborists are in a front line position to assist the campaign to build a comprehensive map of ancient trees which will help to: ! Increase awareness of the importance of ancient trees. ! Secure their future. ! Identify the locations of the main concentrations. ! Monitor current threats and future losses. ! Help to plan the best ways to conserve them in the future.

The company produce over 2,500 units per year and Global Recycling Solutions Ltd were delighted to be informed that they had become Bandits’ largest dealer world-wide in volume sales for 2006.

“I am delighted with the hard-work and effort that the Global team have shown, by achieving this recognition from our supplier. We plan to retain this position for a considerable time” as commented by Paul Caldwell, Managing Director.

Guidance on Traditional Orchards The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species have launched a new leaflet aimed at orchard owners. The trust aims to locate the remaining traditional orchards in order to maintain and preserve this unique and special habitat, whilst encouraging the more traditional methods of orchard management and raising the profile of locally grown fruit.

The Trust would like to encourage orchard owners and managers to protect the wildlife associate with traditional orchards by following the simple steps explained within this new leaflet.

Traditional orchards where once a common sight within the landscape, but this special habitat is now under threat. Competition from cheap, overseas imports of fruit in our supermarkets has led to orchard habitats becoming economically unviable and increasingly rare. The area of traditionally managed orchards across the UK has declined by nearly 60% since the 1950’s.

The free leaflets are available from The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species, 15 Cloisters House, 8 Battersea Park Road, London, SW8 4BG www.ptes.org or call 020 7498 4533

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Ancient Oak at Lullingston Park, Kent, attracts the interest of the county tree wardens on a training day looking at the importance of recording ancient and veteran trees. The event was organised by the local volunteer group of BCTV as part of their on going project to raise the profile of trees in the county.

This five-year project is led by the Woodland Trust in partnership with the Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register of the British Isles. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action and Scottish Natural Heritage.

Joining the Hunt are the Tree Council, The Caravan Club, The National Trust, English Heritage, Forestry Commission and HM Prison Service, over 100 regional and local groups, and many landowners.

The website includes advice on measuring the girth of trees, identifying tree species, and information about ancient trees. Volunteer verifiers will help to check information from recorders regarding the location and accessibility of a tree. For information visit www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk

ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs A guy wakes up one morning and notices a gorilla sitting in the tree outside his bedroom window.

He starts to panic, wondering what he should do.

Eventually he decides to phone the local zoo.

“Great,” says the zookeeper. “We’ve been looking for that gorilla everywhere. We’ll send a team over right away.” After ten minutes a van pulls up and out gets a zookeeper, holding a shotgun, followed by a small terrier.

“How do you expect to catch the gorilla with just a gun and a terrier?” asks the man.

“Well, firstly, I am going to give you the gun to hold. Then I’ll climb up into the tree and shake the branch that the gorilla is on, like mad. The gorilla will eventually fall out of the tree and the terrier is trained to run up to the gorilla and bite his privates. That paralyses him and we can then load him into the van and take him back to the zoo.”

“So what is the gun for?” asks the man.

“Well, if by any chance I fall out of the tree before the gorilla, shoot the frigging dog.”

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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Can’t See the Trees for the Woods Throughout winter local contractors have been hard at work in Savernake Forest as part of a huge effort to enhance the unique character and wildlife value of the forest. Forestry Commission, Natural England and DEFRA have jointly funded this restoration work to enhance the biodiversity value of this most important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Ancient and veteran trees, some of the oldest and most valued features of the forest for visitors and wildlife alike, have been given more room to grow in order to prolong their life-span. Historic avenues have been re-opened, old ponds restored and scrub cleared. This work has gone on across the whole forest “It sometimes appears that the contractors are appearing here, there and everywhere, but the work has actually been planned down to a fine detail, with individual trees identified as priorities” says Fraser Bradbury, Area Forester for Savernake. “All the major veteran trees have been surveyed using global positioning systems, tagged and numbered; this means that we can permanently identify and map each individual tree for their future management “Over the last two years we have identified and tagged 7000 old trees”.

Ben Lennon. (Planning and Environment Manager for the Forestry Commission ) explains “ During Medieval times, the landscape would have been very open with scattered trees and occasional copses. Some of the old beech trees date from the 18th Century landscaping of Tottenham Park.

A handful of the older oaks may even pre-date the Norman conquest. The 20th century planting of trees gives a false impression about how open these landscapes actually were.”

“Part of what we are trying to do is to allow people to actually see these great old trees and give them space and light to carry on growing. Seeing a real old veteran tree in its own space really captures the enduring mystery of the forest”, adds Fraser. “Sadly,” he says,“we lost a number of veterans during the recent storms. “However, this now presents a unique opportunity for deadwood invertebrates that thrive on fallen trees, so the Forestry Commission is not in a hurry to clear these up.

Ted Green, a founder member of the Ancient Tree Forum expressed his delight that Forest Enterprises has taken steps to safeguard the ancient trees especially the ancient oaks at Savernake. “Some of the oaks in the Forest started life before England came into being, they have watched a millennia pass and are still here today – some of the oldest living plants on the planet. It is great that they will breathe more freely once again and carry on giving us great enjoyment for centuries to come.

This is yet another major step in helping our nation recognise their importance after all it was the English oak that put the Great in Britain and these oaks are perhaps the UK’s single biggest obligation in Europe and on the planet, to biodiversity in the conservation of our ancient trees.

Dynamic Tree Decay Research Trees Project Limited is a spin out company of Nottingham Trent University led by Dr Marcus Bellett-Travers who has over 20 years experience in tree management. This new company provides up to date information of practical relevance to those responsible for the care and management of trees. Dr Bellett-Travers demonstrates a modern method of evaluating tree health through the use of thermal imaging. This quick, non-invasive technique not only determines the extent of the decay in whole trees, but also the amount of healthy tissue present in the stem and branches and allows detailed measurements and assessments of the up to 100 trees can be made in a single day.

Dr Bellett-Travers has put together a series of Seminars throughout the UK entitled Why do trees fall down? The seminars draw on his findings from the two year research programme he has supervised as part of the HIRF Fellowship at Nottingham Trent University. It critically appraises visual methods of tree failure such as those put forward by Clause Mattheck among others and it includes actual statistics of tree failure. The effects of different environments and links between mechanistic models and estimations of risk are also offered. New and exciting information is presented on the spread of two important fungal pathogens, Ustulina deusta and Meripilus giganteus both within an individual tree and in populations of trees. Links with other diseases and with drought are also discussed.

ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow between them. The beech says to the birch: "Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?"

The birch says he cannot tell. Just then a woodpecker lands on the sapling. The birch says, "Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?"

The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree. He replies: "It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever put my pecker in!

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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In brief In brief In brief Wildlife Legislation Update No News Yet

In the last issue we reported that wildlife legislation covering the protection of European Protected Species such as bats was expected to change in April. However, legislative delays have meant that the confirmation of the changes has been postponed by government and it is now thought likely that the amendments will come into force some time in July/August 2007.

Clearly we will make every effort to keep you up to date and will be providing you with the appropriate information and guidance as it becomes available.

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40 Years of Arboriculture @ Merrist Wood Merrist Wood College at Worplesdon, Guildford, celebrates its 40th year of arboricultural education.

The college campus occupies an area of some 400-acres and dates back as early as 1318. Merrist Wood specialises in land-based programmes including, arboriculture, horticulture, landscaping, garden design, animal care, countryside management, golf, sports turf, floristry and equine studies.

The opening of the arboricultural workshop in 1968 at Merrist Wood marked the beginning of arboricultural courses at the college. Since then literally thousands of students, from both the UK and around the world, have studied arboriculture at the college and many of them are now directly influencing the progress of modern arboriculture.

As part of the celebrations the college is planning to plant a row of young Oaks along the drive as future replacements for the existing line of old oaks. It is hoped that each tree will be planted by a famous ex-student at a reunion planting ceremony to be held in 2008.

Andy Pinder, lecturer at Merrist Wood, will be giving a presentation at the Arboricultural Association annual conference in September. He will be the after dinner speaker on the Tuesday evening, and will be taking the opportunity to show some of the college's archive of photographs, To support this presentation, TotalArb; a World of Trees, will be publishing a commemorative montage of the best photographs showing some of the more famous ex-students of Merrist Wood. In addition to the extensive archive of photographs that Andy already has, he is also interested in any snap-shots that you can send him of your college years at Merrist Wood. What student antics did you get up to? Can you now embarrass anyone famous who you went to college with?

Send your photographs to Andy Pinder: Merrist Wood College, Worplesdon, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 3PE, or by e-mail to apinder@guidford.ac.uk

Large Tree Services Continues to Expand M. Large Tree Services Ltd continue to add to the wide range of forestry and arboricultural equipment that they distribute throughout the UK and Ireland. New for 2007 is the Hakki Pilke 1X-42 firewood processor. This totally new machine can cut and split logs up to 42cm (16½”) diameter. Maximum splitting force is 13.2 tonnes and automatic multispeed splitting is standard to give maximum output across a wide range of log diameters. The 1X-37 firewood processor-42 is available with 2,4,6 and 8 way splitting blades as well as a log feeder rack.

Also, new this year is the Westtech woodcracker which is a crane or excavator mounted log splitter for breaking down oversize logs (or roots) for firewood, chipping or shredding. Currently 3 models are available with 600, 820 or 1000 jaw capacity. Splitting force of the Woodcracker is 26 tonnes.

Norwood Lumbermate 2000 and Lumberlite 24 sawmills continue to prove popular and are available with a large range of options. The Lumbermate 2000 can saw logs up to 31” diameter. The Lumberlite 24 is suitable for logs up to 24” diameter. A range of different engine options are available.

Also new this year is a wide range of replacement log and brash grapples and continuous rotators.

ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs ARB laughs

We continue to sell Thor log splitters, Farmi Forest cranes, trailers, winches and chippers, Atmos log boilers and Saatotuli wood chip fired boilers.

A blonde was driving one day. She swerves to the left then to the right. Suddenly a police officer pulls her over and askes, “What’s wrong? why do you keep swerving?” The blond replies, “I saw a tree to my right so I swerved to the left, then I saw a tree to my left so I swerved to my right.”

Then the police officer says, “MA’M thats your air freshner.”

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Small electric motor, other economies behind band saw launch

Wood-Mizer has revealed its smallest band sawmill, further extending a range that has an industrial mill at its extreme.

Called the Wood-Mizer LT10, it is priced 20% lower than the hitherto smallest by using a 5.5 kW electrically-powered motor.

Within the price the LT10 is able to incorporate the same thin kerf technology as the industrial mill and sawing quality is the same as its larger Wood-Mizer relatives.

Although transportable, it suits sawing in static conditions. For example, all year in a barn and in winter when other outside work is difficult and where electric equipment makes life easier. Customer research shows that smooth sawing, minimal noise and lower power cost to the process are welcome.

Until now, the smallest Wood-Mizer band sawmill has been the LT15, introduced in 1997 and with 5 000 operating worldwide. Record sales of this formerly lowest-cost Wood-Mizer band saw mill led to a price cut in 2006. The LT15 recently added powered up/down, ‘Setworks’ and a bigger engine with electric start.

In terms of economy, the company has now gone a step further. Despite wide use of the LT15, it was noticed that a group of would-be small band saw operators wanted something even simpler.

The LT10 responds with the smaller power source as well as reduced log specification which together slash the price but maintain the cut and hand crank, up/down, push/pull feed. ‘Setworks’ are deemed unnecessary but the LT10 has the same blade running gear as the LT15.

LT10s will be generally used by farmers, estate owners, park managers, large garden centres and anyone with relatively modest timber sawing needs.

The bed frame dismantles for transportation or storage. A variety of zinc coated bed frame sections to suit differing customer requirements are available.

Conservation Projects Don’t Account for Climate Change.

An investigation by the Environment Agency and Countryside Council for Wales has found the measures to protect wildlife, woodland and water in England and Wales are unsustainable and do not deal adequately with the issue of climate change. The investigation recommends a more coherent approach to countryside management after analysing initiatives and policies such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Woodland Strategy and Catchment Flood Management Plans were found to be inadequate. More information is available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pulicaitons.

Wollemi Funds Conservation at Kew The conservation work fund at Kew has been boosted by a massive £21,000 following record sales of the Wollemi Pine. Kew director Professor Stephen Hopper was presented with a cheque at the Chelsea Flower show.

The money was generated by royalties from plants soild by Kernock Park Plants.

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Algarve re-brands into Lycetts Group Lycetts, the UK's premier countryside insurance broker, today announced that its Algarve division, based in Surrey, is to be officially re-branded under the Lycetts Group of companies. Acquired by Lycetts in June 2005, Algarve is a general commercial broker who also specialise in arranging cover for the arboricultural and forestry industries.

Officially aligning Algarve into the Lycetts Group will allow Algarve to benefit from Lycetts established brand and reputation, and fully exploit Lycetts' national network of clients and partners. As part of the move Algarve Underwriting Agencies, who provide specialist solutions for the broking market, will be re-branded to become Lycetts Broker Services.

The change in brand image will have no impact on the levels of service currently offered by Algarve. Angus Keate, chief executive of Lycetts, explains: "Two years after becoming part of the Lycetts business, we are delighted that the Algarve brand is now re-launched as part of the Lycetts family. In keeping with our corporate values, clients will continue to receive the high quality and personal service to which they have become accustomed."

David Hewitt, director of Algarve and Lycetts, adds: "The Algarve name is very well known within the arboricultural and forestry industries. The re-branding to Lycetts, with their reputation in the countryside arena, will strengthen our position as one of the market leaders. We are delighted to be part of the Lycetts family."

Wilkie introduce new models Safety, reliability, high build quality, high efficiency, to name but a few of the attributes associated with Premier Wood Chippers, by Schliesing. Wilkie Equipment Ltd, a family run business based in Hampshire has been working with Schliesing for around 18 years, their knowledge and experience with these machines coupled with their knowledge of the arb industry enables them to offer a unique and professional service to their customers.

This year Wilkie introduce 2 new models onto their range. The new improved 300MX and the 550MX-FORESTER. The 300MX has numerous technological innovations, including a new canopy system made of GRP with separate engine and disc canopy. This model is also available on Schliesings un-rivalled tracked chassis, allowing you to get this very capable machine to places other fear to tread. The 550MX FORESTER is an awesome machine with 28cm capacity, fitted with a grab loader optimally positioned behind the feed hopper. The power for this chipper is provided by means of 98 HP Kubota Turbo Diesel. Both of these machines look to set new high standards in the chipper industry.

Wilkie have recently built on their services offered to customers this year, offering hire of machines along with the sale of used machines. Hire machine are all Schlieisng and fully maintained in Wilkie’s workshop. The used machines they offer are again all Schliesing and to the highest of standards.

A recently re-furbished machine ”pictured” a 550ZX, with 28cm capacity and tractor powered, was snapped up by the first company who look at it.

All of Wilkie’s used machines are completely stripped down, sand blasted if necessary and sent away for painting. The machines are then re-built repairing or replacing any damaged or worn parts, no matter how minor or major the component, offering the highest standard of used machines. Wilkie will be at the major shows this year, where you can see a range of new and used Premier Wood Chippers by Schlieisng.

Wilkie Equipment hope to have many new products and model upgrades throughout 2007 and 2008 so watch this space for editorials or visit www.wilkieequipment.co.uk

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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The Coates Blockdriver In the world of practical tree work you could be forgiven for thinking that there was more than enough equipment out there to assist almost every possible task required when undertaking anything from delicate pruning to full scale big tree dismantles. However, all it takes is for some bright spark to think outside the box and it is possible to find an easier or quicker way of doing a job. The Coates Blockdriver is proof if ever it was needed that you can never have enough tools in your truck and this is definitely your next purchase.

Watch the video for yourself @ http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=15120&CID=61054 it up like a carrot. The large logs can then be cut up on the ground, where the task is easier, quicker and most importantly safer. Just imagine how much energy and effort that could be saved, and how much safer it would be. Well now you can do it, with the Coates Blockdriver.

This cleverly designed device has been developed by an arborist called Reg Coates, who has been working in arboriculture as a contract climber taking on specialist dismantling jobs for a variety of companies across the world.

The progressive design process took him considerable time and effort with initial prototypes built in his garden shed and then modified as he tested their application on the job.

Residential tree work just does not get any easier. With developers maximising on every square metre of their sites, houses are getting pushed closer and closer to trees, and we all know the damage the construction machinery does to the roots below ground.

It is an unfortunate fact of arboricultural life that trees are frequently victims of development. If they are lucky enough to survive the compaction and physical root damage, chances are that the new property owner will see them as big green objects that blocks out the sun. The ultimate point being that an arborist will be asked to take down a big tree into a postage stamp of a garden, with limited access and nowhere to anchor a winch.

The Coates Blockdriver is now available to assist your next dismantling job and can be purchased from a number of leading retailers in the UK and New Zealand. www.treepro.co.nz www.proclimber.co.uk www.treeworker.co.uk

www.buxtons.net www.honeybros.co.uk

Sound like a familiar story? Well can you also feel your shins aching from the pressure of climbing irons, or your kneecaps twinging as you run up the stairs? Chogging down a big tree into a confined back garden can be a time consuming process and cutting off numerous small discs is physically demanding on the climber.

However, just think if you had the ability to deal with much bigger sections of timber in one go, and take down the trunk in 3-4 logs rather than dicing

See the Coates Blockdriver in Action @ the AA Trade Fair on the Treeworker Stand The Blockdriver Kit is available from: Treeworker, Proclimber, Honey Brothers, Buxtons & TreePro New Zealand TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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Showdown ISA Student Tree Climbing championships 2007 sponsored By Vermeer UK and Sherrill Tree.

Held at the celebration of trees Caple Manor College.

The ISA student competition has been growing from humble beginnings over the past six years. This year was the biggest and most successful yet.

The students for the first time completed all the disciplines they would be expected to do in a full ISA TCC. There were a few changes to make the activities more easily accessible for fledgling climbers in their first few years in the industry.

A rope throw element was added in with the throw-line, with basic knot tying for some bonus points. A belayed speed climb up a lovely ladder like cedar, an aerial rescue from a preinstalled line, a 40' footlock with points awarded for the fastest times and every 10' climbed and lastly the most popular was the work climb, where starting from the top of the tree the climber has to visit 4 stations performing work related tasks like limb toss into a target, hands saw bell and limb walk without setting of a weighted buzzer, simulating pruning a tree over a fragile roof or TV aerial.

The standard was very high, with evidence that the students had clearly been training hard helped by two work shop days hosted by Sparsholt and Shuttleworth Colleges. These were run by Noddy Knot and Alex Laver sponsored again by Vermeer UK. The top three guys and top two girls then went onto a masters challenge, similar to the work climb it simulates a 'could you just', job at the end of the day, a 25 minute time limit to get into the tree and visit two or three points, a pole saw limb walk, a hand saw bell and then return to the ground and retrieve all their gear.

Tamara Bridge and David Ward won through earning bags full of goodies turned wooden bowels and the chance to climb representing the student at the English open.

The International Tree Climbing Championship was initially proposed in 1975 with the intent to preserve the classic skills that would prepare a climber equipped with nothing more than a rope to have the ability to save a life in an aerial rescue.

At the first ISA Jamboree to be held at the conference in St. Louis, Missouri in August of 1976, each chapter was allowed to send two contestants to

compete as a team in four events the Work Climb, Aerial Rescue, Rope Throw, and the 40' Footlock or Body Thrust Speed Climb.

Contestants had the option to compete in both Footlock and Body Thrust Speed Climb events but were allowed to only earn points in one of the two events; only a selected few preferred the footlock over the body thrust method to enter the tree.

Afterwards, the total scores of the events were accumulated at the end of the competition, and the climber with the highest total score was announced the winner. With new regulations, climbers were required to be tied in at all times during the competitions and the Footlock event was withheld from competitions deemed unsafe because there was no protection from an open fall. In 1991, the Footlock was reintroduced as the Secured Footlock event, requiring the use of a Prusik Loop, and became a mandatory event for all competitors.

The Body Thrust was transformed into the Belayed Speed Climb event. The Rope Throw was replaced by the Throwline event and the Footlock became the Secure Footlock event. Also, the Masters' Challenge, a final championship round, was created, consisting of only the top five male and top three female contestants who have accumulated the highest combined point total in the preliminary events.

ISA Tree Climbing Championships are now hosted in 20 countries around the world, and today over 1,000 contestants participate at over 50 local competitions worldwide. The purpose of the event has also expanded to promote safe working practices, demonstrate innovations in equipment and techniques, and provide industry recognition.

The competitions have brought the end users and manufacturers together, resulting in products specifically designed for tree care applications, benefiting safety standards creating a new respect for the role of the climber and a strong focus for the climbing community to improve the work environment for all tree care workers.

ISA UK&I English Open Tree Climbing Championship Held at Merrist Wood College, Guildford, on the 19th and 20th May, as part of the Merrist Wood College open day.

The preliminary events were all run on a clear, if not a little breezy, first day.

This made for perfect weather to climb and spectate in both the sun and cool of the shade.

Tree Care, made light of this with some comments on the score sheet.

Those scoring high targets and points had someone on their side as the wind dropped - lucky for some!

The only hindrance was in the throw line event where the wind came from just the wrong angle. By the time the throw bags were running out of steam at the top of the throw, the wind was pushing them just enough to frustrate quite a few of the climbers. Head Judge on the station, Trevor Witt of Witt

The day finished with everyone around the two main trees where the last groups were completing their aerial rescues and work climbs, with much encouragement for the Novices and friendly discouragement to some of the old hands.

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Michael Birchall on the Work Climb – Photograph taken by Natalie Cartor www.phoopia-photography.co.uk

Last climb of the day was Noddy Knot of Treeworker, on the work climb tree, showing the young guns how it should be done. Nod almost did as well as Head Judge, Jon Harthill on his demo of the climb that morning.

We had great support in running this event from Lantra Awards and we would like to thank them for sponsoring the event and preliminary rounds.

Day two saw the sun climb high in a blue sky and we could not have wished for more. The public started coming through the gates and were welcomed with a head to head foot lock knock out challenge to warm them up. The top 8 foot locks battled it out with Jon Turnbull and the young pretender from Northern Ireland, Stephen Donaghy, rounding off the challenge. It was a good race but Stephen dropped a lock which lost him the crown. Jon won by a body length and received a new rope from Honey Brothers for his troubles.

Unimogs line up at Merrist Wood College, Open Day. From left to right the vehicles and their owners are: Classic U411 owned by John Harraway, Crewcab U1100 (red) with crane owned by Dave Bridgeland, U1100 (green) with PTO hydraulic winch owned by Louis Parsloe, U1650 with high capacity chip bin owned by Dennis Artis, U140 with front mounted chipper and access platform owned by Peter and Gary Trayhorn, full agricultural spec U2100 owned by Steve Court.

Merrist Wood College open day on Sunday 20th May was the venue for the fifth Round Timber Club Reunion. An eclectic collection of forestry vehicles and equipment, old and new assembled, including AEC Matadors, a Scammell Explorer and several demonstrations of timber and log sawing.

Modern equipment was represented by a mobile band saw and several Unimogs, including a very finely turned out U1650 belonging to Dennis Artis.

Jonathan Tumbull in action on the Work Climb– Photograph taken by Natalie Cartor www.phoopia-photography.co.uk

All eyes were on centre stage for the Master Challenge Finals of the weekend. Two trees - one for the ladies and one for the chaps served 5 men and 3 girls in all, which were run alternately giving the ever faithful Judges a chance to rest the necks in between their climbs.

The original Round Timber Club was formed in the early 1990s, following the publication of Maurice Sanders book 'Stories of Round Timber Haulage'.

Maurice honored the club by being its founder member and visited events whenever possible. Although the club ran out of steam some years later, several original members felt it would keep the spirit of the club alive by holding an annual reunion, not only for past members but also for all those interested in the development of forestry and timber haulage equipment.

The event will be held again next year at Merrist Wood and anyone interested in attending as an exhibitor should contact John Harraway for further details. j.harraway@btopenworld.com, telephone 01903 756 153

All climbed well – the two new boys exceeded themselves and put in a sterling effort in front of a big crowd.

We would like to thank Nick Potts of arbjobs.co.uk for sponsoring the Ladies’ Series this year and the ever present support of Martin Honey for the Men’s Series.

Results: Ladies 1st Phillipa Allen 2nd Josephine Hedger 3rd Roberta Aversa

Men 1st Jonathan Turnbull 2nd Stuart Witt 3rd Rhys Brace 4th Ali Magee 5th Stephen Donaghy

For full results and more photos, have a look at our web site www.isa-tcc.co.uk or find us on my space www.myspace.com/tccuk.

Alexander Laver, TCC Chairman

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

Vintage mobile saw bench powered by a tractor pto, in the Round Timber Club display area at the Merrist Wood open day on 20th May 2007

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ISA UK&I Old Orchards Seminar, 21st May, Pershore College A sunny day greeted the eighty participants at the ISA UK & Ireland seminar on ‘Old Orchards: the Essential Issues’ held on 21st May at Pershore College, Worcestershire, an area famous for its orchards and fruit production. Debbie Bryce reviews the day.

During the day, visits to three orchards were made and apple juice and cider from traditional orchards was available for tasting. The seminar was the first in a series that the Chapter plans to raise awareness of the issues associated with this increasingly important subject. Speakers were from all parts of the country and the Chairwomen, Jill Butler and Caroline Davis are well known for their work in the Ancient Tree Forum, www.ancient-treeforum.org.uk Dr Paul Read opened the day with a talk on why old orchards are important.

Paul is a botanist and expert in old orchards, including orchard history and cultivar identification, advising Girton College on their 130 year old orchard and running his own as part of his holding in Suffolk. His talk included a large range of slides addressing all aspects of old orchard importance: history, features, uses, range, types, cultivar origins and diversity, and landscape importance.

Helen Woodman, Conservation Operations Manager at Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, gave two talks. Her work includes managing nature reserves and species safeguards, large area landscape schemes, Biodiversity Action Plans, responding to planning documents, influencing land management, landowner liaison and community awareness of wildlife issues – as well as cider and perry-making using fruit from traditional orchards!

Her talk ‘Managing Orchards for Wildlife and People’ included the new Worcestershire Orchard Biodiversity Action Plan, the Tiddesley Wood orchard reserve - stronghold for the priority species Noble Chafer beetle and examples of good and bad community involvement. Local objection can be a major problem for the owners of traditional orchards wanting to remove them for whatever reason and Helen’s example was a harsh reminder of how much trouble a client can land in if a tree consultant has not raised all the relevant issues surrounding old orchards as part of his advice.

Good examples of community involvement came from the Mid-Kent Downs Community Orchards project, one of several European Leader + funded orchard projects around the country.

Her talk ‘Local Wildlife Sites and Engaging Landowners’ discussed the new DEFRA Local Sites System which formalises the existing system of locally important ecology sites recognised by local authorities and designated by county wildlife trusts. Old orchards are eligible as Local Sites and Helen discussed landowner liaison and ideas for funding orchard restoration and management, e.g. county council grants, landfill tax funding – a bit of a minefield but definitely an untapped resource – DEFRA Higher Level Stewardship, Section 106 funding and funding from Heritage Lottery, Natural England funding and Arts Councils.

One delegate, Jim Chapman of the Hartpury Trust, has received £400,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Regional Development Agency’s Gloucestershire Rural Renaissance scheme, DEFRA, and Gloucestershire Environmental Trust, which accesses Landfill Tax. This is for a project to create a 25 acre perry pears, apples and plums orchard with visitor education centre and associated old orchard surveying.

Chris Wedge from Natural England discussed the severe losses of traditional orchards across the country (up to 95% in some counties), and the fact that they cannot just be recreated: recreation does not replace. Also, the UK Priority Habitat Review which will make old orchards UK Priority Habitat; Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) funding; orchard management and pruning; distinctions between orchards and wood pasture habitat; and orchards and archaeology. HLS is a competitive DEFRA scheme aimed mostly at larger farms with orchards as part of the whole package. This is less relevant to non-farmers than county council and landfill tax funding and delegates received information about these sources in their seminar packs.

The new Natural England ‘Technical Advice Notes (TANs) for Orchards’ are a major piece of work written by Chris and comprising advice on: Site and Tree Selection; Planting and Establishing Fruit Trees; Formative Pruning of

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Young Trees; Maintenance Pruning; Restoration of Mature and Neglected Orchards; Fruit Tree Health, Orchards and Wildlife. The TANs will be on the DEFRA website or via Chris Wedge: 0117-959-8644.

Fabiola Blum, Biodiversity Co-ordinator for Cambridgeshire County Council, gave a talk on her work helping district councils to prepare policy, guidance and strategy on old orchards. For example, Huntingdonshire Council is producing a leaflet for its councillors and planners entitled ‘Traditional Orchards in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough: protecting what we have – creating for tomorrow’. She discussed the new South Cambridgeshire Biodiversity Strategy including mention of old orchards; the Fenland Council planning policy citing orchards as part of landscape character; the Cambridgeshire Phase Two orchard survey and Orchard BAP. The new community orchard at Cambourne, a major housing development to the west of Cambridge, is an example of an old or new orchard helping to meet modern requirements for Greenspace in development (see English Nature’s ‘Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards Model). It was clear from Fabiola’s talk that councils are beginning to take biodiversity and old orchard issues seriously.

After lunch, delegates visited Wick Orchard opposite the college, which was part of the Westminster Abbey estate until the dissolution of the monasteries, then in the 18th century was purchased as part of the Wick estate by the Hudson family still owning it today. This orchard is relatively young and recent planting of pear trees on quince stock was evident.

Dealga O’Callaghan, Chartered Forester, arboricultural consultant and biologist and expert in planning and development, was the first of the two afternoon speakers whose talks were aimed at brainstorming a way forward in orchard protection. His talk discussed the various existing legislation and statutory instruments that would make Veteran Tree & Orchard Regulations a possibility without amendments to existing legislation, including TPOs, Government advice, the legal framework, veteran tree attributes and a way forward.

Alister Rankine of Treeworks Environmental Practice finished the day with a talk on novel thinking about orchard protection, bringing in development, planning and protection, Rio, the CRoW Act, UK Priority Habitat and PPS9 Section 40 NERC Act 2006; risk assessment, Triple Bottom Line accounting to evaluate the full merits of old orchards in monetary terms, case histories and thoughts for future protection.

Tim Dixon of Natural England expressed the view that that an approach using monetary value is essential for influencing Government policy and getting funding from Natural England, RDAs and Arts Councils. He considered we are living in a wildlife ghetto with no funding but Village Design Statements are a strong way of stating orchard importance within villages.

The day concluded with visits to the Tiddesley Wood orchard reserve managed by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust with new planting among the old trees to ensure the long-term survival of the Noble Chafer beetle; and to Lillian’s Orchard at Kemerton, an old orchard under restoration for three years and managed by the Kemerton Conservation Trust.

Anyone wishing to offer ideas for the forthcoming meeting between Natural England, Debbie Bryce and Jill Butler of the Ancient Tree Forum concerning old orchard protection should send their ideas to Debbie.bryce@gmail.com tel: 01245-231023 Thanks to the sponsors of the seminar: The Small Woods Association www.smallwoods.org.uk, Mark Hinsley Arboricultural Consultants, www.treeadvice.info and ArborEcology, www.arborecology.com.

All speaker Powerpoint presentations are downloadable from the website of the International Society of Arboriculture UK & Ireland Chapter: http://www.isa-uki.org/

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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Fact File Arboriculture is a technical subject full of scientific jargon and sometimes the simplest things can be complicated to understand or even explain without knowing the botanical function of trees and how their growth processes work. In this section we will be exploring everything from the seemingly obvious to the downright complicated in an effort to provide some simple explanations and definitions that will assist your everyday understanding of arboriculture.

Photosynthesis: The definition of photosynthesis is: the sequence of reactions, performed by green plants, in which light energy from the sun is converted into chemical energy and used to produce carbohydrates and ultimately all the materials of the plant.

The photosynthetic reaction can be summarised in chemical symbols, as: 6CO² + 6H²O + light energy = C6H12 O6 + 6O², but I am sure that many of you will have switched off at the sight of a formula so lets see how the process can be explained another way.

In the simplest words possible photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the energy from the sun to produce carbohydrates from carbon dioxide (CO²) and water (H²O). Oxygen is a by-product of this chemical reaction, because the plant does not need it all, and the surplus is released back into the atmosphere in ‘pairs’ of atoms in molecules (O²).

This oxygen, given off during photosynthesis, is the main source of atmospheric oxygen, and is essential for the survival of aerobic organisms such as ourselves. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to appreciate and understand the process of photosynthesis in plants of all sizes, especially trees.

During this series of chemical reactions the simple inorganic compounds of carbon dioxide, which is absorbed from the atmosphere, and water that is drawn up through the plant (by transpiration) are converted into complex organic compounds known as carbohydrates.

There are two distinct phases to the process of photosynthesis, the so called light (or light-dependant) reactions and the dark (or light-independent) reactions. During the first phase light energy from the sun is used to split the simple inorganic compound, we know as water, H²O into its separate component atoms (hydrogen - H and oxygen - O).

The light energy from sun is captured in organelles within cells known as chloroplasts, which hold pigments called chlorophylls that are used to facilitate the capture of blue and red light wavelengths. These chlorophyll pigments are used to trap the light energy, so it can be used in photosynthesis, and they are also give plants their green colour.

Now things are going to get a little more complicated because we have to introduce some complex compounds such as NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) and ADP (adenosine diphosphate). The latter is used by the plant to synthesis ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which in the simplest sense is a chemical means of storing energy.

ATP is a product of the light phase and stores the energy for use in the dark reaction. NADP accepts the hydrogen atoms resulting from the splitting of water molecules (giving NADPH²), during the light phase, which is then used in the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO²), to form carbohydrates in the dark reaction.

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The dark reaction is the second phase of photosynthesis where the plant uses energy from the ATP in a chemical reaction to yield simple sugars that then combine into a number of complex carbohydrates, such as starch and cellulose, in a variety of forms. This second phase does not necessarily occur at night, it just does not require sunlight to provide the energy for the chemical reactions to take place.

Related Definitions: Carbohydrates are complex organic compounds containing carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). From the plants perspective these compounds are used to store energy, which it has captured from the light of the sun.

Enzymes are protein molecules, which in very small quantities, catalyse and control the natural chemical reactions of metabolism. Enzymes are usually large complex molecules and most are responsible for one or two particular reactions in the cell. Cells contain many thousands of different enzymes.

The term Catalysis is used to describe the process in which natural chemical reactions are made more rapid, e.g. by enzymes. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed in the process. An enzyme is a catalyst.

Metabolism involves the breakdown of organic compounds, releasing energy that is used in the synthesis of other compounds, and is the result of the chemical reactions which occur in an organism or a cell. A metabolite is a substance produced by metabolism.

Synthesis is the process of building chemical compounds from small molecules, e.g. carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in photosynthesis.

Transpiration is the process of water movement upwards through the plant from the roots in the soil. The flow is driven by a potential gradient caused by the evaporation of water from the leaves. This works because water evaporates from the leaves (it transpires) and draws more water up the tree, just like sucking on a straw.

Chloroplasts are found in the cells of leaf tissues and in green stems, they contain their own DNA (genetic material) and can reproduce themselves.

Chloroplasts are green plastids containing chlorophyll and are the site of photosynthesis.

Plastid is a general name for the type of organelle in plant cells, which is surrounded by a double membrane, and contains plastoglobuli and vesicles. There are several different types of plastids, each with a particular function, e.g. chloroplasts and chromoplasts.

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An organelle is effectively a ‘cell organ’, being a body within a cell, usually with a membrane around it. There are frequently several different kinds of organelle within a cell and each will have a specific function. For example the function of chloroplasts is photosynthesis and the function of mitochondria is respiration.

A mitochondrion is a round or rod-shaped organelle, in which the chemical reactions of respiration take place in a process called the Krebs cycle, where a series of metabolic reaction in aerobic respiration, where carbohydrates are broken down. The energy released in this reaction is used to synthesis ATP from ADP. Carbon dioxide and water are by-products of respiration.

Stomata are effectively pores on the surface of leaves, that open and close, influenced by localised climatic conditions and chemical processes within the plant. Stomata regulate the evaporation of water from the leaf, and the entry of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Cellulose is a carbohydrate polymer made of glucose molecules, which is a product of photosynthesis and is the most important substance in plants, because it is used as the ‘building blocks’ in growth.

A polymer is a chemical substance formed by the union of many molecules of the same kind. Carbohydrates and sugars are frequently found in polymers such as polysaccharides and nucleic acids. Polypeptides are also polymers in the form of long chains of amino acids that become folded to form proteins.

Protein is a substance made of one or more polypeptides, which themselves are made of amino acids. There are very many different kinds of protein, each with its own sequence of amino acids. Some are structural, e.g. in membranes and others are enzymes, which catalyse reactions in cells.

Respiration is the process in which cells release energy stored in carbohydrates in order to drive the chemical reactions of metabolism.

Respiration can occur aerobically where there is sufficient oxygen, such as plants growing in the atmosphere, or anaerobically in situations where oxygen is not readily available, which is a process that is used by some bacteria that live in mud or in the guts of animals.

To Heal or Not to Heal: It is generally accepted that the description of healing is not something that can be used to describe anything to do with the growth processes of trees.

the structure according to the load requirements. This is a phenomenon that Claus Mattheck describes as the Axion or Uniform Stress.

To appreciate why the term healing does not apply to trees it becomes necessary to understand how they respond to injury and infection. Tree ‘healing’ has been measured as callus growth generated to occlude wounds. Callus forms after wounding and callus cells are in a new spatial position. The tree’s growth response to wounding is one of sealing and not healing.

Every wound a tree receives during its life is recorded in the wood, because the injured cells are never replaced or restored. The interpretation of this generative, reactive growth process is the basis for the visual tree assessment method (VTA), which enables the arborist to ‘read’ the tree’s force flow form.

The Axiom of Uniform Stress: The enlightening work published by Claus Mattheck and Helge Breloer in their book ‘The body language of trees – a handbook to failure analysis’ (1994) transformed the way that arborists look at trees. The principles behind the axiom of uniform stress, directly informs the indispensable inspection technique of visual tree assessment (VTA).

Trees are self-optimising mechanical structures that reactively respond by producing new wood on an annual basis, which is economically distributed across their surface according to the growth resources available at the time and the relative stress on each component part, e.g. extra material is laid down to re-enforce areas of weakness or high stress.

If the tree’s structure was evenly loaded and if all points on the surface were required to withstand the same stress, it would have no overloaded areas (breaking points) and no under-loaded areas (waste material). This is the ideal that the tree’s growth mechanisms strive to achieve and the new wood laid down each year can be observed, in a progressive pattern of development, known as its stress flow form.

An optimal structure has a uniform stress over the whole of its surface.

Trees react to three mechanical stress factors or forces; compression, tension and shear, with the balance between these factors being the ‘axiom of uniform stress’.

However, the fact that it is technically incorrect does not stop it being used to describe the occlusion of tree wounds.

Influenced by external loads, internal weaknesses and distracted by growth stimulants like phototropism (foliage growth reaction to light levels) and hydrotropism (root attraction to water), the tree’s form grows reactively year on year.

Occlusion is the progressive growth of callus tissue that is produced by the tree, year on year, to cover over an area of dead tissue or wound, e.g. pruning cut. The culmination of the process results in the complete coverage of the wound, which can then be described as occluded. The exposed surface of the wound is effectively sealed.

With a knowledge and understanding of biomechanics an arborist can read the stress flow form, using observational techniques that interpret visual signs of the trees reactive growth mechanisms, which are the key to its dynamic survival strategy. This is the principle behind Claus Mattheck’s visual tree assessment (VTA) method.

Healing on the other hand, describes a restoration process where injured and infected cells are replaced or repaired in their same spatial position.

The term is used to describe a process of restoring to health, to make good or sound again, tissues that have been damaged or injured in some way.

An Axiom is a precept which seems obviously true by virtue of the inherent plausibility, but cannot be generally proved. In contrast a dogma has more to do with belief than with fundamental truth.

Trees cannot restore injured and infected cells to their same special position, because they are generative systems that produce new cells year on year, and do not have the ability to change those that have been created in previous years.

Animals, like us, on the other hand are regenerative systems and have the ability to physically change cells, or in some cases can breakdown or remove cells in a process of atrophy. Our wounds heal by replacing the damaged cells (dead cells) with new, so the end result is a complete repair.

The healing process leaves no dead tissues behind.

Atrophy is a process that occurs in the optimisation of bones, where an animal’s growth mechanism encourage the production of new cells (to strengthen), while allowing others to waste away (atrophy) thereby optimising

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

Claus Mattheck explains the Axiom of Uniform Stress for his VTA Elite Master Class’

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Feature Tree pasture or wood pasture.

There is a well held belief that when Neolithic farmers began to colonise Europe they first cleared the dense forest that covered the land. Ted Green describes an alternative view in which large herbivores grazed a diverse open wooded landscape of trees, shrubs and savannah pasture.

The primeval landscape of Europe also known as the ‘Wildwood’ conjures up a dark frightening and unwelcoming place, in the imagination, impossibly difficult to penetrate with its dense tree and shrub canopy and once inside all too easy to get lost in. This has encouraged a popular idea that a squirrel could run from the toe of Italy to John o’Groats in Scotland without touching ground, if you ignore the English Channel.

However, a number of people in the UK began to question this received wisdom and through their individual research, experts such as Frances Rose who studied lichens, Keith Alexander collecting information on wood decay beetles and Mick Crawley investigating the habits of grazing animals, found evidence that contradicted the popular thinking.

Meanwhile, my own observations of tree form and the co-evolutionary relationship between the Jay, the acorn and the oak, led me to question how some trees could have successfully reproduced and spread across a landscape of unbroken woodland. The collective evidence appeared to indicate that the extensive diversity of organisms, especially sun and open space loving organisms associated with trees, could not have evolved under a continuous shady high forest woodland canopy which is the traditionally conceived idea of the Wildwood.

One of the most significant arguments, against the idea that the Wildwood was a continuous cover of trees, comes from the fossil records of significant populations of large herbivores that appear to have roamed the countryside across the European continent. Such animals would have required space to wander across the land and extensive areas of grassland on which to feed. It therefore has to be asked whether the creation of glades within a continuous cover of woodland across the landscape would have been on a scale sufficient to support significant populations of grazing animals such bison (Bison bonasus), tarpan (Equus przewalski gmelini), auroch (Bos primigenius), elk (Alces alces) and red deer (Cervus elaphus).

In the year 2000 a Dutchman, Frans Vera, published his investigations into the vegetation cover of western Europe, in ‘Grazing Ecology and Forest History’ in which he put forward the alternative idea that it was originally a much more open tree landscape, more akin to informal parkland with open grown trees in a herb rich grassland interspersed with groves or ‘roundels’ of woodland surrounded by a fringe of scrub. He was driven by trying to understand the ecology of the oak, a tree which requires good light levels to establish and that cannot regenerate in dense forest.

Before this publication the open areas of the forest were explained away as the result of natural events such as fire and hurricanes. However, the idea of fires creating clearings was dismissed by Oliver Rackham who questioned these explanations and commented that ‘broadleaved woodland burns like wet asbestos’. Meanwhile from the evidence of the storm events of 1987 and 1990, that devastated parts of southern England, and similar wind damage caused in France at the end of 1999, it is clear how difficult, if not

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impossible, it would be for grazing animals to move and exploit open areas in the chaos of fallen trees and mass of fallen limbs.

In fact it would take many years before animals could return to these areas unless man was present and clearing away impenetrable walls of decaying wood, which would otherwise take many years to decay, or fallen ‘layering’ trees that were regenerating profusely. Furthermore, the regeneration would go quickly to a thicket stage and rapidly outstrip the reach of animals.

Additional evidence from the 1987 storms in the New Forest has shown how successful tree regeneration is in these impenetrable areas As the intervals between sufficiently extreme weather events, to cause major tree windthrow, tend to happen centuries apart the clearings created by both wind and fire would be incredibly limited and close over within decades.

It seems unlikely if not infeasible that populations of grazing animals could survive on such unpredictable systems that would have been dispersed across a broad countryside with little in the way of connective links. It is also questionable whether the glades created in this way would be of sufficient size to support grazing animals, particularly when combined with the apparent lack of connectivity.

Frans Vera proposes an alternative system for the creation of the open areas in his book on Grazing Ecology and Forest History. He explains that open areas are formed in the heart of the aging forest through the death and collapse of the oldest trees. However, trees in company with other large, long-lived organisms seldom die simply from the effects of a single organism. It is most often a result of physical damage or stress from drought that allows pathogens and parasites to accelerate their host’s demise. .

Unfortunately there are now only a few very small areas of Europe where wooded landscapes, with expanding and receding populations of trees and where open areas that develop through natural processes can be studied.

It is not possible to study them in a modern forestry landscape which is so changed and manipulated by man and where natural glades are rarely allowed to form. The structural environment of such woodland is affected by the regular and frequent removal of dead and dying stems and if gaps do develop they are quickly replaced to maximise on a crop return.

It is therefore difficult to find examples of glade formation where natural processes have been allowed to take place at a scale sufficient to demonstrate it effectively. In man made forests we do see small open areas are created in high winds through crown snap or the tree windthrow or the loss of major limbs. But in these situations or when an individual tree dies and remains standing the surrounding trees exploit the space and close over.

I have found an example of two clearings created through natural events in an area of 50 year old yew (Taxus baccata) at Kingley Vale Sussex. The woodland developed when yew colonised the open chalk downland in the

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Ancient woodpasture landscape of Richmond Park, part of the ancient royal hunting forest of England. Considered by some to be typical of a European Savannah landscape of mature trees growing in wild pasture grazed by large herbivores such as bison, tarpan, auroch, elk and red deer. Today this historic park landscape is designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Decaying wood habitat forms a key component of the parks conservation status as a SAC and it is considered essential to the sustainability of the ancient tree populations.

1940’s and resulted in an even aged closed canopy. In the past few years two glades have appeared and to date I believe that they have not been re-colonised. It is recognised that these glades have been created by a pathogen, but I believe the pathogenic agent has not been identified.

While many plants, animals and other organisms classified as an economic pest or disease are well studied and researched in order to reduce their impact on the commercial world, the part they play in the natural world is rarely considered. It is true to say that most ecologists pay scant regard or have little or no understanding of the part ‘pathogens’ and ‘pests’ play in managing natural ecosystems.

It cannot be stressed enough that the vast bulk of fungi, protozoa, bacteria, nematodes and the billions of other micro-organisms that occupy the planet, are essential and fundamental to the very survival of the natural world in the complex web of life. Although the ‘pest’ and ‘pathogens’ appear to be detrimental to their hosts they are essential in the natural world to the continuation of the ecosystem as a whole. By accepting the role of pests and diseases in the woodland ecosystem it becomes much clearer how glades of all sizes could be initially created, developed and maintained, perhaps for centuries, by animals.

We can at least compare the effects of fungi in woodland glade creation with other similar habitat patterns created by fungi such as ‘fairy rings’.

These can be clearly seen in old meadowland or lawns when the toadstools often appear in a perfect circle. At Stonehenge some of the fairy rings have been calculated to be centuries old.

We also know that a ring of honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) in a north American forest is up to 50 km in diameter and is said to be the largest known organism on the earth. As Armillaria mellea can be a pathogen of trees and shrubs it is very easy to see that as the ring of Armillaria expands and progresses through the forest it kills the old tree or clump and creates glades. In some cases the Armillaria may also maintain the glades by destroying or suppressing any plants or seedlings attempting to colonise the clearing.

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

Another good example, in a different type of habitat, is the pathogenic development of Phytophthora species, which can often causes a quite sudden and dramatic death to relatively large patches of monoculture heather (Calluna vulgaris) typical of southern heathlands in the UK today.

The mosaic of dead and dying patches is quite a good illustration to compare with a pathogen in close canopy woodland.

Although it is a highly unnatural system, it shows how a pathogen could move through a plant community creating a mosaic of different stages of growth. Often in heathland conditions man unintentionally helps the pathogen. Not only is the heather subject to regular burning but it is often also severely stressed by growing in poor ground conditions caused by severe vehicle compaction and subsequent water logging. Incidentally one of the very successful strategies for the transportation of spores around the world and used by Phytophthora species that are pathogenic to plants in particular, is water.

Therefore it is interesting to speculate that a well-used, compacted, animal track across grassland or through forest that can hold water for a length of time would allow spores to migrate along a linear feature instead of a ring.

Animals could transport spores, too, on their feet and legs to and from the water especially at regular communal watering places and wallows.

Depending on species behaviour and under normal circumstances a watering place of water-filled track could be a major point of cross contamination not only for passing on animal diseases and parasites but also animals acting as a vector for pathogens for plants.

In the forest, therefore, trees die from disease and glades of all sizes including savannah like landscapes develop. These glades are grazed by herbivores but we must also consider what happens when animals die from disease and drought. This provides opportunities for the forest to regenerate.

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There are examples of diseases and parasites affecting populations of grazing animals which by significantly reducing their numbers allows the regeneration of trees and shrubs. In the UK when the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population virtually disappeared in the mid 1950’s due to the virus disease myxomatosis, oak became established from acorns planted by jays (Garrulus glandarius) in open areas in the resulting ungrazed grassland.

There are fascinating evolutionary relationships between the oak and the jay (Garrulus glandarius) and other members of the crow family, azure winged magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) and the evergreen oaks (Quercus ilex) in Spain and Portugal, the nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) and the arolla pine (Pinus cembra) in European mountain ranges.

In the case of oaks, an acorn is buried in an open space by a jay as food for the winter and left to germinate. As it is ‘planted’ in the open it becomes a tree which is able to grow unrestricted without competition from other trees and develops what is termed an ‘open-grown’ form. It optimises its light gathering opportunities by forming a shape similar to a sphere. In later years if browsing animals re-appear the lower limbs within reach would be browsed and eventually die encouraging it to take on the shape of an umbrella.

Of all the tree species in Europe the oaks are characterised by their open grown form creating the large oaks scattered across parklands of England and many hedgerows across the landscape. Oaks because they are so light demanding, are certainly not suited to the competitive environment of woodland, where their lower lateral limbs are either heavily suppressed to the point of terminal decline or are photo-topically diverted and deformed in search of light.

“Young oak trees establishing in open grassland, where acorns from the adjacent parent woodland have been buried by jays.”

Similarly in East Africa the different age classes of the groves of Acacia tortilis can be directly linked to the periods of reduction in populations of grazing animals through outbreaks of disease.

Once the open space or savannah has been created light demanding trees have the potential to regenerate but how do they manage to disperse their seeds into the open area and protect the seedlings from the grazing herbivores? Birds, mammals and insects such as ants can often be vectors.

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Oaks are also seldom found growing successfully under other species canopies and even have trouble succeeding beneath their parent trees.

Although the exception of the rule appears to be the relatively open woodland of Scots pine where oak can establish unsuppressed. Therefore, unless assisted by man in the form of forester, it is very unlikely that natural oak forests, covering a large area of Europe, ever existed.

The hypothesis presented by Vera is that acorns were buried by jays close to thorn bushes and the thorny scrub would have given them protection from grazing animals. Today we would recognise these landscapes as wood pasture, and it is in such places that many of our oldest trees still survive.

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Medieval Deer Parks and their Conservation Importance Ancient parks and their trees are wonderful magical places. Yet for decades or more they were largely forgotten. They were lost islands of stability in landscapes of change. Ian Rotherham of Sheffied Halam University introduces the fascinating antiquity and diverse ecology of these ancient landscape features.

An Introduction to Deer Parks and their Ecology Since Oliver Rackham’s books, Ancient Woodland in 1980 and The History of the Countryside in 1986, it has been clear that wood-pasture was once the most abundant wooded landscape in north-western Europe. This is a land management system where trees are grown, but with grazing by large herbivores. The latter may be domesticated, semi-domesticated, wild, or a mixture.

In Britain, there are two broad distinctions in ‘ancient’ wooded landscapes.

First there are coppice woods, often managed since medieval times as simple coppice or more frequently ‘coppice-with-standards’. These have relatively few big trees, but strikingly rich and sometimes diverse ground floras. Secondly, there are parklands, which may link back to ancient deer parks. These generally have poorer ground floras due to grazing livestock, and are often (but not always) characterised by massive and ancient trees, mostly ‘pollards’.

For wildlife conservation, it was mostly assumed that the coppice woods were excellent habitat for woodland birds and flowers, the parks for rare lichens and fungi growing on the trees, and insects or other invertebrates that depended on veteran tree dead wood habitat. The general and ‘popular’ assumption was that coppice woods had strong links to ancient landscapes and vaguely conceptualised ‘wildwood’.

However over recent decades, research has shown many of these assumptions to be incorrect. Today there is much excitement about deer park landscapes because their ecologies may be the closest analogies that we now have to north-western European primeval forest landscapes.

Juxtaposed but different from medieval coppice woods, and often including woods in their boundaries, these unique conservation resources provide insights into ecological history.

To all the great researchers and writers we owe a huge debt of gratitude with studies and writings by authorities like Oliver Rackham, George Peterken and Donald Pigott; forging coherent visions of woodland landscape ecology including deer parks. The other great influence came to the subject from the consideration of the animals themselves, the deer.

Whitehead was the driving force behind rigorous study of deer and deer management throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. Their work allows us to assess the historical ecology of medieval deer parks, considering them in a context of similar landscapes and ecologies. Parks have trees (usually but not always), and large (and sometimes smaller) grazing mammals; and to, survive, trees need protection. Some of these trees are ornamental and others are managed ‘working’ trees, with fundamental differences in species and structures associated with these different functions.

It is the central presence and roles of great trees that make parks of interest to most aboriculturists. Indeed the modern tree manager takes his or her place in a long time-line of tree managers!

Wood-pasture is well-documented for over a thousand years, Domesday accounts in 1086AD often record landscapes dominated by this practice.

Silva pastilis (wood-pasture) is recorded with up to 24% of land in Derbyshire for example. Silva minuta (underwood or coppice) is less abundant at around 2%. Wood-pasture was the ancient system that developed in multi-functional landscapes with plentiful woodland. Formal coppice and the consequent livestock management so important to medieval communities, was not required.

Most coppices were more intensive; rigorously managed to ensure vital supplies of wood and timber in resource-limited environments. Vera argued that pasture-woodland is an older, more ‘natural’ system. Interestingly, most livestock, wild or domesticated, take leaf fodder or browse, if offered, rather than grazing.

Medieval deer parks are part of a suite of landscapes mixing trees and large, grazing or browsing mammals: wood-pasture, wooded commons, forests, and probably in prehistory a great wooded savannah across much of north-western Europe. In origins and ecology deer parks are essentially a form of ‘pasture-woodland’, related to forests, heaths, moors, and some commons, with grazing animals and variable tree cover.

Aside from the obvious perimeter enclosure, these landscapes are essentially unenclosed gazing lands. To understand their ecology it is important to establish their origins and relationships to other wildlife habitats.

In this context, their origins may be old; the idea and techniques of constructing and maintaining a park to keep animals such as deer, for table and chase, goes back to pre-Norman. They are known from the first century BC and were familiar in both Roman Italy and Gaul. Poorly-documented in England during Anglo-Saxon times, but flourishing after the Norman Conquest (symbolic of status and wealth) it is recognised that some deer parks are much older.

After the Norman Conquest, deer parks in England increased dramatically from maybe a few tens, to 3-4,000, with few in Wales (c. fifty), and maybe eighty in Scotland. From the early thirteenth century a royal licence, a ‘right of free warren’, was necessary to create a park. Where documents survive, they provide invaluable reference materials for a now vanished age, giving insight into landscape and ecology. The average English medieval deer park was around 250 acres; some bigger and many much smaller.

It is necessary to differentiate medieval deer parks from other imparked areas and in temporal palimpsests from other contemporary landscape features. This is often a difficult task. Deer parks share features with other

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unenclosed grazed landscapes with trees and woods, such as chases, forests, moors, and heaths; and many parks took in earlier landscapes when they were enclosed often from ‘waste’ or ‘forest’. This can make interpretation difficult. Sometimes park management has allowed parts of this ancient ecology to survive. They may include features from periods of positive management with specific ends and outcomes, followed by abandonment or changed use. Each phase preserved, modified, or removed the earlier ecology and archaeology of working landscapes over a thousand years or more. To understand today’s ecology and the parkland archaeology takes awareness change through management and neglect.

Imparkment modified the original ecology in different ways: 1. Preservation: original features and species maintained within the enclosed area.

2. Modification: original features and species maintained but modified within the enclosed area.

3. Removal and replacement: original features and species removed by enclosure and subsequent management, to be replaced by new features and a new ecology.

These were during the original establishment and with each subsequent phase of ‘improvement’ or abandonment, generating both continuity and novelty. This varies dramatically from site to site. In some cases all that remains is a single veteran tree or perhaps isolated boundary earthworks.

On the other hand it may be a significant parkland resource with substantial elements from earlier times.

Trelowarren Park on the Cornish Lizard remains as an intact boundary with mature trees and an ancient woodland flora; the parkland core long since gone, is replaced by agricultural fields. Old trees on the park pale are not veteran park trees, but hedgerow trees now grown out. Earthworks and differences in vegetation may be evidence of changed land-use and boundaries. For example, at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire, the contemporary park includes large areas of former medieval open fields, with characteristically sinuous ridges and furrows. Other parks incorporate short, straight ridge and furrow from Napoleonic or Victorian steam-plough incursions into the park during times of land or food-shortage.

Much ecological research fails to take account of different origins and histories; for many ecologists, a park is a park. Reality is different and the study of ecology in these areas is often not placed within a reliable historical framework. Indeed there is little information on the ecology of these landscapes in times past; when they were intact working deer parks. We have to make assumptions based on today looking backwards, or gleaned from material such as household and estate accounts.

The complexity of deer parks in the landscape, today and past is illustrated by those of say Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire or the fascinating history of the Duffield Frith in Derbyshire. Parks may be embedded within a wider forest landscape and to understand their historical ecology it is essential to appreciate their form and function, and how these have changed over time.

In many cases only fragments survive to the present day and in many cases these fragments are still unrecognised.

However, even where a park does survive and has continuity from earlier times, the management today will be radically different from that in the past.

Furthermore, whilst we may not fully comprehend the details of the former ecology, or of the management that maintained it, we do know that they were inextricably linked. That management of the park, of the wider landscape in which it is seated, and of specific features within it have fluxed over the five hundred to fifteen hundred years through which it has existed is not in doubt.

The ecology that presents today is a reflection of this part continuum and part palimpsest. For a proper appreciation of any particular park, it must be considered in terms of its form and function within the manor as a whole.

This applies to its ecology as much as anything else. !

The Uses and Functions of Medieval Deer Parks The medieval deer park was an important feature in its landscape.

Furthermore, it was different in character from the modern conception of a

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park. The latter is often based on an image of an eighteenth or nineteenth century landscaped park, created usually by one man in a big house (for the use of himself and his family), or of a nineteenth or twentieth century, municipal park. The latter would be established by a local council for the use of all its citizens, or a landowner for his workers, or by a private company for the use of subscribers. Generally by the early twentieth century all of these would be owned and managed by a local authority.

The medieval deer park was very different; areas of rough, uncultivated landscape, usually wooded, and frequently on the edge of manors away from the cultivated fields. They were the property of the lord of the manor who designed them primarily as hunting parks. They were stocked with deer and other game to provide sport and venison for the lord, his family, and his friends. Our vision of a working medieval park places it within a landscape of common land (open field, common heath and waste), of woodland, and of Royal Forests. The ecologies of these areas would be inexorably entwined.

Medieval deer parks were for hunting, to provide food for the table, and wood and timber for building and fuel. Besides deer, medieval parks contained wild boar, hares, rabbits (reintroduced to Britain by the Normans), game birds, and fish in fish ponds; cattle and sheep were also grazed.

These parks generally consisted of large areas of heath or grassland (called launds or plains) dotted with trees, along with woodlands (called holts or coppices, and if for holly (Ilex aquifolium) hollins).

The launds and the coppices were vital for providing food for the animals both in summer, and in the case of hollins, through the long winter months too. The park may have held and maintained deer (fallow (Dama dama), and red (Cervus elaphus)) for the table and for the hunt. In the latter case, this sometimes involved release beyond the park pale and into the chase beyond.

Some parks extended over many miles, Woodstock (Oxon.) for example, had a perimeter of seven miles to provide hunting on a grand scale. Others would have been much smaller, right down to some that were little more than a paddock for a few deer. The ecology of these landscapes would

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have varied on a similar scale. Along with deer, other livestock would have exerted additional grazing pressures, and specific areas were set aside, enclosed, and maintained as rabbit warrens.

CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY

As social and economic conditions changed, the fashions for parks, and the means for their upkeep also fluxed. Most were created during the period 1200 to 1350, and thereafter the numbers dropped. Deer parks were still being created during the 1400s, but were often different in form. Later parks were often for ornament and as an adornment for a great house. Deer and other livestock would still have been important but now for ornament and for the table, but often not for the hunt.

A consequence of these dynamic changes is that boundaries move. Small parks may be enlarged, or sometimes replaced in their entirety by new imparkations. Parks and their relationship to the great house also change through time and with fashion. Originally, the park was an enclosed area at a small distance from the main house but perhaps containing hunting lodges. Later parks were the settings for houses and gardens and so the house moved to the park, or the park was moved or modified to envelop the house.

Many of the solitary trees in the launds would have been pollarded (high coppice), and some perhaps shredded (branches removed from the tall, main stem). The only new tree growth outside the woods took place in the protection of thickets of hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), holly, and bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.). There were also special woods called holly hags or hollins where the holly was cut on a rotation to feed the deer in winter.

The park was surrounded by a boundary fence, called the park pale. This was either a cleft oak fence, or a bank surmounted by a cleft oak fence, or by a wall. If there was a bank, then there was normally a ditch on the inside.

Park pales often contained structures known as deer leaps to entice wild deer into the park. Buildings in parks included manor houses (from Tudor times), keepers’ lodges and banqueting houses.

Deer parks were expensive and difficult to maintain, and many fell from fashion and then abandoned and destroyed. Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries many medieval deer parks were deliberately removed (known as disparkment), to become either large, compartmented coppice woods, or farmland. Whilst it is generally recognised that deer parks were places in which hunting for sport took place, it is important to realise the economic importance too.

The park was often multi-functional and was a part of the wider economic mechanism of the manor. Turf and stone were extracted, mineral coal too if it occurred, with arable crops such as cereals grown within the park pale.

Deer may have been a priority but they often shared the landscape with other domestic stock such as cattle, horses, and even goats. The park at Wharncliffe Chase near Sheffield even acquired North American Buffalo during its later days in the early twentieth century.

Embedded in the rural economy, as this changed so did the value and costs of maintaining a park. Many were abandoned during the English Civil War (1642-1649), and very few survived intact as the wave of agricultural improvement swept through the landscape from 1600 onwards. Some such as Tinsley Park in Sheffield, and Tankersley Park in Barnsley, were lost to industrial development as landowners discovered coal and ironstone beneath their land.

A relatively small number retained much of their medieval character, and some of their function. Some have kept these to the present day. For the modern arboriculturist the trees either within relict parks, or those that are themselves the only survivors in the landscape, present major problems.

They are both living and therefore mortal, but they are heritage, and largely irreplaceable. In this context the role of the skilled tree manager is absolutely central to their futures and to our appreciation of them. There is still much to learn. These issues and many more will be discussed at the September 2007 Conference on Parks and Parkland, at Sheffield Hallam University.

Photographs Complements of Paul Hobson Wildlife Photographer www.paulhobson.co.uk

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Development The presence of and the installation process of non porous hard surfacing, combined with associated soil compaction are two of the main factors contributing to the high mortality rate of trees on development sites.

BS 5837 ‘Trees in Relation to Construction, Recommendations’ 2005 recommends the use of a non compactable sub base and a porous finished hard surface. WHY? Well to answer this we need to understand the problems associated with traditional hard surfacing, Dermot Ward explains.

Ground preparation for a traditional roadway sub base, consists of excavating the ground up to a metre below the finished surface. This type of excavation will cut through the roots of adjacent trees, which often marks the beginning of the trees’ decline, with the death being inevitable in the worst of cases.

When the foundations have been dug the trench is filled with a structural sub-base of MOT type one or similar. This material consists of various sizes of crushed rock from fines up to 40mm pieces of broken stone, this mix of material is what gives type one its strength and structure. However to stabilise the mixture it needs to be compacted using heavy machinery.

The type one is spread out and rolled to compact it into a load baring sub base contained within an excavated trench. The various different sizes of rock debris that make up type one, mean that after rolling, the component parts bind together to form a hard impermeable layer. The final process involves covering the sub base with the finished surface, which can be anything from concrete to tarmac.

The use of these materials prevents the natural process of gaseous and moisture exchange from occurring in the soil surrounding, any remaining roots, thus causing the roots to die from suffocation and desiccation, which can ultimately lead to the death of the tree.

The alternative to the traditional compacted foundation techniques and their related problems for trees is to build the hard surface with foundations above

ground level, to avoid physical root damage and maintain a porous structure.

However, this presents a series of issues when it comes to building a structural surface that is capable of withstanding vehicular traffic of the type used on construction sites. To maintain a permeable, load bearing, structure the loose stone fill must be retained in a way that it does not get compacted.

The solution is to retain a course, angular stone material within a cellular confinement system that provides lateral stability, while layers of geo-textile are placed above and below to stop the ingress of fines from the finished surface or the soil below.

The cellular product is a honey-comb like mattress of oval shaped cells that is stretched out and filled with stone, and it can be installed without the need to excavate a trench to retain it or the loose stone fill. The stability provided by the lateral containment also means that there is no need to compact the stone to achieve a load bearing structure. Furthermore it has the ability to carry the same weight as traditional roadways with only half the depth of stone fill required.

Traditional roadways gain their strength and structure by compacting the type one to bind the various sized stone content together. However the infill stone used in a cellular confinement system contains no bonding fines material, because it relies on its cellular design to contain, support and bind the infill material. This means that vertical porosity can be maintained, using a fill stone with no fines content.

When it comes to maintaining a porous sub base, an important component of the cellular confinement system is the installation of the geo-textile layer below and above the confined washed stone fill. This prevents the loose stone being pushed into the ground below and any fine material penetrating the porous stone sandwich between the geo-textile layers.

The creation of a cellular sandwich also means that the product design, incorporating perforations in the cell walls, helps to maintain lateral drainage as well. This feature of the foundation structure is an important factor whether the cellular confinement system is used above or below ground.

The movement of water through the soil and across the surface is an integral part of the design benefits of the cellular confinement system.

Traditional compacted sub base materials result in an impermeable barrier for the passage of water in both the vertical and horizontal direction, and this will happen whether they are buried below ground or spread out on the surface. A further negative side effect of such impermeable structures, is that water runs off the surface very quickly and frequently this results in a whole range of drainage management issues that are rarely resolved in favour of adjacent trees.

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Cellular Confinement The primary function of a cellular confinement system is to retain the loose stone fill, so it becomes structurally stable and can support vertical loads, usually exerted by vehicular traffic. The effectiveness of the cellular system enables a structural sub-base to be installed without the need for heavy compaction machinery, and with a bonus that less stone is required to fill it.

To achieve the, load bearing, structural specification for the cellular confinement system it is important to ensure that an angular stone fill is used with an even size, averaging 20mm. This is an important point because the vast majority of 20mm stone, sold to the construction industry, is supplied from marine sources, which produces less angular, predominantly rounded, gravel. Whereas aggregates that fulfil the necessary specifications are usually quarry derived or recycled crushed stone. Marine derived aggregates are more readily available and may well be cheaper, but they contain a large proportion of rounded stones, which will not penetrate the perforations in the cellular walls causing the whole sub base to move around when it is driven over.

The use of angular stone not only means that fill material locks together with itself, but it also interlocks with the holes within the side walls of the cellular confinement system. The interlocking mesh between angular stone fill and cellular side wall provides an integral structural stability that is an essential factor in the load bearing quality of the surface foundation.

The combined effect of holding the stone within a rigid honeycomb of lateral restraint means that the stone used to fill the cellular confinement system will resist higher vertical bearing loads, without being compacted. As a result a foundation can be constructed using a smaller volume of stone material and taking up less vertical height than a compacted, unrestrained sub-base. It is also worth noting that the loose stone fill used in the cellular confinement system is cheaper to buy per ton than the traditional MOT or type one aggregate.

Case Study The following is a case study on the implementation of an Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) in which a non compactable root sensitive road way was recommended to protect the trees on site, before, during and after the development. This case study aims to outline the methodology used to remove an existing hard surface, remediate the ground and finally install the new sub base.

The existing property on this site was due to be demolished and replaced with a slightly larger residence set further back from the existing footprint. As part of the planning conditions for the site an arboricultural method statement was produced by ArborEcology Ltd. This AMS prescribed the installation of tree root protection on the site entrance, for the duration of the demolition of the existing house, through construction and to form the foundations of the new residential driveway.

Due to the proximity of several of the trees, around the front garden of the property and adjacent to the drive, it was clear that the root protection area (RPA) could not be effectively fenced, because this would greatly restrict the site entrance and make it very difficult, if not impossible, to demolish the existing house, let alone import the materials to build the new one.

The solution was to install a root sensitive roadway utilising a cellular confinement system to form the sub base over the RPA. Having dug several test holes on the driveway it was decided that the existing hard surface was not strong enough to withstand the rigours of development and that a

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

replacement hard surface would have to be installed. This sub base would form an area from which the existing house could be demolished and once the new development was built would act as the sub base for the new drive area.

However, before doing so we considered the possibilities of retaining the existing hard surface and covering it over with steel track-way for the duration of the development, but because there were some planned level changes to take place in the area it was decided that removing the drive before any development proceeded, would be the best option. We were also concerned that despite the use of the track-way that further compaction of the soil beneath the tarmac driveway would take place.

The Method Statement initially suggested that the tarmac drive should be broken up using hand tools only; however that naivety was soon exposed and it became clear an area of this size would be completely impracticable to break and remove by hand.

The use of machinery had to be considered so we chose to use a 3.5 tonne 360 machine on rubber tracks. A number of things were considered when choosing this machine; firstly and most obliviously its weight, we were determined not to make the ground compaction any worse, so using a relatively light weight machine was a priority.

Secondly the type of bucket to be used, we restricted the operator to only using a grading or ditching bucket. This type of bucket has no teeth, which reduces the risk of snagging on any roots just below the layer of tarmac.

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Meanwhile the drive strip was planned in such a way that any machinery that had to be used on site was restricted to working from the existing tarmac surface. This meant that the drive strip started inside and worked its way out to the site entrance. With the digger remaining on the hard standing at all times and spinning 180 degrees to load a 3.5 tonne truck behind it.

The drive strip concentrated only on the top 100mm of tarmac and left the ground beneath undisturbed; this process was painstakingly slow but had to be carried out this way so that the operation could be supervised by the Arboricultural consultant.

Following the complete removal of the offending tarmac layer the worst areas of rubble were removed and our thoughts turned to how we could improve the ground for any remaining tree roots and for roots which would hopefully utilise this area in years to come.

We decided that together with the de-compaction process we should incorporate new topsoil into the area where the new sub base would be laid. The objective was to improve soil growing conditions to benefit the remaining trees on site and allow them to utilise the area under the new drive to its full potential.

Several tonnes of topsoil spread by hand and two days with a Terravent later we were at long last ready to begin to lay the cellular foundation that would cover the RPA of our retained trees.

The logistics of this particular site were quite tricky with a weight restriction having been placed on the site until a suitable load bearing surface was laid.

For this reason we started at the gate and worked our way into the site creating an area which we could work from as we progressed.

The weight restriction also meant that the initial load of stone infill had to be delivered in 1 tonne bags and craned onto the site to fill the first sheet of cellular foundation. This first section created an area to store more materials

on site, and ensured that the exposed ground around the trees was not compacted again.

We have found that more and more cellular confinement systems are now being recommended on development sites where sub bases are encroaching on the RPA of trees This is great progress, it shows that trees are now slowly being taken into consideration during the planning stages of development, and there is no doubt that BS 5837 2005 has contributed significantly to its use. However as with all new developments in the way we construct buildings close to trees a full and clear understanding of how a product is meant to be used, and in what context it should be used, is absolutely vital.

It may seem and indeed we did go to great lengths to remove the existing hard surface from the site mentioned above, but the other option was to lay the cellular confinement system over the top of the hard surface and the simple question would have been what good would that have done? I would suggest little or none. Other options might include grading the whole site regardless of what roots were there and laying the cellular foundation over that. but again it’s a complete waste of time, effort and money.

If installed properly cellular confinement systems will retain their lateral and vertical porosity throughout their working life as a foundation. However, the effectiveness of their porous structure is only as good as the finished surface laid on top. Although the value of lateral drainage should not be underestimated it is the porous nature of the vertical surface layers that is important for the survival of the tree roots growing beneath.

It is also worth considering that using these materials and method to construct a foundation has notable sustainable credentials, because when it comes to removing it, the cellular sheets can be lifted out, with the loose stone shovelled back into yard bags and the whole system can be used on another site. Not quite that simple, but effectively possible.

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Geogrids

Fin Drains

Geomembranes

Erosion Control

Gabions

Grass reinforcement

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Root

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Root Sensitive Excavation and Exploration Soil De-Compaction Radial Trenching Root and Basal Decay Investigation

www.rhizosphere.co.uk 0845-658-1600

CellWeb, No.1 in Tree Root Protection CellWeb (Tree Root Protection System) is the market leading solution to the problems associated with building vehicular access areas over existing tree roots – in accordance with current BS5837 guidelines (trees in relation to construction).

Our experienced sales team offer a full design service; including CAD drawings, method statements and the option of a full installation package in association with our specialist arboricultural contractor.

Geosynthetics Limited are the only company in the UK to have carried out independent tree root protection field trials, proving the CellWeb systems long term performance and structural integrity.

For a copy of the report or assistance with your specific project, please contact our sales office on 0870 850 1018 or email sales@geosyn.co.uk. www.geosyn.co.uk

Cellular Confinement Systems

Root Control

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Incorporating Orchards into Development Central government, regional and local planning policies are increasing the emphasis on the retention and restoration of old orchards as part of the development framework, and plans to create new community orchards to satisfy greenspace requirements, which is also encouraged by local authorities. Debbie Bryce explains the background to this increased prominence for orchards, illustrated by successful cases where fruit trees have been retained within new development schemes.

English Nature’s ‘Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards Model’ published in 2003, which suggests that no one should live more than 300m from an area of natural greenspace; there should be at least one accessible 20ha site within 2km of home; one accessible 100ha site within 5km and one accessible 500ha site within 10km.

The developer has fenced the orchard off, educational and school activities are planned, the site has open access and fruit will be freely available. The Beds-Cambs-Northants Wildlife Trust is over-seeing the greenspace and moved to Cambourne in 2004 to new premises, built by the developer in return for managing the orchard and other habitat. Further information can be obtained on 01954 713 500.

The obligation to protect biodiversity is set out in PPS9 (Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation, August 2005) and in Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (S.40 NERCA), which states: “Every public authority must, in exercising its functions, have regard, so far as is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions, to the purpose of conserving biodiversity” Section 40 replaces and extends a similar pre-existing duty on Ministers and Government, which was set out in Section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000. The aim of this duty is to raise the profile and visibility of biodiversity, to clarify and consolidate existing commitments with regard to biodiversity and to help stimulate a culture change so that biodiversity issues become a natural part of decision-making right across the public sector.

In July, old orchards along with fourteen other habitats become UK Priority Habitat as part of the review of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (pending government approval). This will raise their profile in planning policy as all Regional Strategies must take account of them.

Several examples exist of new or established traditional orchards being incorporated into development of various scales, from a few houses to major development sites of thousands of homes such a Cambourne, which is a new settlement to the west of Cambridge development of around 5,000 houses.

!

At the other end of the scale, also in Cambridgeshire, a development of a few houses on a tiny site in the Cambridge suburbs involves removing five middle-aged apple trees. Here, the developer recognised the value in ensuring the site was well landscaped and therefore attractive to the new residents as well as being a spin-off benefit to the existing neighbourhood.

The developer appreciated an approach from an East of England Orchards Project member suggesting the incorporation of heritage fruit trees within the landscaping and is liaising with the Project to identify appropriate varieties for the landscaping scheme and to ensure the new trees are appropriate for their proposed positions and the new residents can live with them. The hope is to bring tangible benefits to the post development landscape and local community.

Traditional orchards are also part of landscaping policy in Fenland District Council’s Local Plan. Its policy N1 Landscape Character includes: “Retaining and conserving characteristic vegetation, traditional orchards and historic landscape features such as field patterns, drains and hedgerows.”

Cambridgeshire council in general is recognising the protection of traditional orchards within their policy and strategy. South Cambs DC recognises orchards in its new Biodiversity Strategy drawn up with the help of the County Biodiversity Co-ordinator, Fabiola Blum who was raised among her family’s apple trees in Germany.

She has also helped Huntingdonshire Council to create guidance for its planners and councillors entitled ‘Traditional Orchards in Cambridgeshire – protecting what we have; creating for tomorrow’.

The site had mature hedgerows and pocket woodlands as existing habitat and much new habitat has been created, including a country park with lakes and grassland, thousands of trees and a community orchard consisting of fifty apple, pears and damsons, gages, plums and cherries, mulberry, quince and medlar trees.

A considerable number of new trees were planted, with species selected from local varieties, sourced from the East of England Orchards Project.

Work parties to manage the orchard are drawn from the local residents of the new development, and funding from district council, parish council and private sources.

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This document discusses the effective use of the statutory planning system, strategic planning polices, TPOs, Conservation Areas, retention on development sites as community orchards, and new community orchards on new developments, survey, regulation, management, marketing, promotion and community involvement.

The production of this planning guidance document was assisted by a Local Habitat Action Plan for Cambridgeshire, which deals specifically with Traditional Orchards. Meanwhile other documents are available from Fabiola Blum: 01223 718 573.

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In 2005, the Orchard BAP group together with the East of England Apples and Orchard Project (EEAOP) carried out a Phase1 survey to identify the remaining traditional orchards in Cambridgeshire. This revealed that the area of orchards in the county has reduced from 5,000 ha in 1950 to 1,000 ha in the year 2000. With only very little wooded area in the county, orchards play an integral role for wildlife conservation while being a important landscape features in their own right.

The years 2006 and 2007 will be used for a Phase 2 survey to assess the biodiversity value of each of the identified traditional orchards. A selection of orchards will then be subject to a third phase of survey work when specialists will be concentrating on biodiversity, e.g. mosses, fungi or invertebrates. The orchard BAP group is also communicating the value of traditional orchards to planners to better protect the remaining orchard resource and to encourage new plantings.

The draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West states at paragraph 7.3.19: “Traditional old orchards and veteran trees are important features of the region and provide good habitats for wildlife...”

At Bawdrip in Somerset, a developer obtained planning permission for a development on ‘the oldest recorded orchard site’ and all the veteran apple trees were lost despite hosting a nationally scarce species, the beetle Scolytus mali. A local objector succeeded in persuading the developer to allow cuttings to be taken from the felled trees, some of which were successfully grafted.

The resulting maiden trees have been replanted into the gardens of the new houses and a small new orchard using heritage varieties is to be created in a corner of the site to mark its former history as an orchard. Funding will be sought from Somerset County Council’s Orchards and Landscape schemes and DEFRA has offered a small sum for each new tree.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has a Greenspace Strategy, which includes wildlife sites – orchards fit this description in most cases. This document is a material consideration in the council’s development control decisions and it sets a local standard that the council can apply to new development. This would require a developer to provide the greenspace, or to pay for it to be provided in the local area, under planning obligations.

However, perhaps more important is that, where a site already contains an orchard it can be seen as a ready-made greenspace solution and a valuable resource for local biodiversity.

The council recently put this strategy into action on a site at Broadmoor Lane containing an old orchard. The site is on the outskirts of the city and consists of a stream and sixteen fruit trees now protected by TPO. At first, the orchard was to be lost as part of the planning permission but was recommended for retention and enhancement by the council’s Landscape Officer, Andrew Sharland. The final permission allows six houses to be built right up to the orchard that will be retained, managed and funded by Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Parks Department, being public open space.

Another example in the same district saw houses being built effectively within an orchard, which is maintained by a professional management company.

This is funded for by each house owner on the site paying towards management of the open spaces. The orchard is retained as a ‘quality of

life’ feature with new planting. The management plan forms part of the Section 106 agreement.

As part of a housing project to develop an old town centre orchard in Evesham, Worcestershire, the local planning authority (LPA) asked the county Wildlife Trust (WT) to comment on the application. The WT requested further ecological information and suggested that the site could be important for the Noble Chafer beetle.

The LPA subsequently decided that a planning condition was required to ensure a dedicated Noble Chafer survey was completed prior to development. Whilst the WT would have preferred the completion of a survey before planning was granted the LPA had not deemed this necessary, because the presence of the beetle would not materially affect the outcome of the application.

Noble Chafer – photographed by Chris Harris

If evidence of noble chafer activity is found there are plans in place to agree a whole-tree translocation to the nearby Tiddesley Wood, in accordance with a method statement drawn up and agreed under the terms of the planning conditions.

In the Harwell parish of Oxfordshire, an area famed for its cherry orchards, a development of over 8,000 houses is approved between Harwell and Didcot to help meet the South East’s regional housing growth of 720,000 dwellings. An existing traditional orchard on the allocated site is being retained as part of a 65 hectare greenspace provision, with funding for management provided via the Section 106 legal agreement, which forms part of the planning permission. The parish council is taking on the management of the orchard that will be sub-contracted to a professional service provider. The developer is paying £2.8m as part of the Section 106 agreement to fund the management of all 65ha in the long-term.

From the above, it can be seen that old orchards are becoming a serious consideration during the development process, and local authorities are taking the opportunity to fulfil greenspace obligations, and their biodiversity duty under S.40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERCA) 2006.

Orchards provide ready-made greenspace solutions, quality of life features and attractive landscape character for communities. Local objection against orchard loss can be significant so the issues surrounding orchards need to be highlighted by arborists as part of their advice to clients. This ensures that threats are minimised, opportunities maximised and stumbling blocks laid down by planning authorities i.e. greenspace and biodiversity obligations, are accommodated.

Individual ancient and veteran fruit trees should be assessed by appropriate experts before removal. Such trees respond well to appropriate pruning but can be damaged or killed by inexpert treatment.

Fruit trees can live for far longer than is commonly believed and some are historically important, while the orchards themselves are often intrinsic to the broader historic context of the landscape.

Internet Downloads: Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards Model: http://www.english-nature.org.uk/pubs/publication/PDF/Accessgreenspace.pdf PPS 9 - http://www.planninghelp.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/67145C76-D1CE-40A8-A09E-82AD73C87F4D/0/PPS9.pdf Traditional Orchards: Local Habitats Action Plan for Cambridgeshire: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/21020E6F-5F22-41B0-8944-468C80A24E54/0/orchards.pdf The Condition of Orchards in Cambridgeshire, Phase 1 Orchard Survey: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/87DFF29E-5AD0-4342-A369-D1E415B03205/0/CambsPhase1Report.pdf South West England, Draft Regional Spatial Strategy: http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/media/SWRA/RSS%20Documents/Final%20Draft/draftrssfull.pdf

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Tree Care DECAYING WOOD A Fundamental Process Supporting Tree Life Dead wood may well have recently died, and no longer part of the living tree, or even attached to it, but we should not be calling it DEAD, because it is DECAYING. You may think this is just another word for the same thing, but unlike Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch, the point is that dead wood is anything but dead. The description dead wood implies a static state, without the consideration for the process of decay, and the diversity of life forms involved.

Andrew Cowan explains the importance of considering this process.

The extraordinary life of trees is the central focus of tree care and arboriculture as a whole, but from an ecological point of view we are completely out of touch with the true life cycle of trees. We may consider ourselves to be very good at managing living trees, with sympathetic pruning techniques that are used to extend their life expectancy, but are we actually providing complete tree care?

The healthy arboreal ecosystem is a sustainable recycling system in which nothing is wasted and everything is reused. Trees are in fact the world’s most effective recyclers, because with the assistance of a diverse suit of associated, co-evolutionary, organisms they very efficiently live off the nutrients released from decaying organic matter within the soil.

The decomposition of dead wood, whether wood chips or entire tree trunks, sustains soil organic nutrient levels and is an integral component of the life cycle of trees. In fact it could be said that the life cycle of trees is more about the process of decay and recycling than it is about the living tree itself.

Therefore to practice complete tree care we must understand and integrate management techniques that consider decaying wood intrinsic to tree health.

Why decaying wood?

Decaying wood, which we have spent years removing, cutting off, and scraping out of cavities, because we have considered it to be dead and therefore of no use, is perhaps more important to the arboreal ecosystems than the living trees. The woody tissues of the tree may no longer be alive as far as the tree is concerned, but they are being decayed by a multitude of different organisms, while providing shelter for many more.

It is the process of decay which is the focus here, the progression of use by different organisms. Some like their wood served up fresh with the sap still ebbing from it’s vessels, while there are those that prefer it when others have had their fill and all that is left is a mass of soft cellulose or brittle lignin.

The diverse array of organisms that are involved in the breakdown of dead woody tissues is truly amazing. So much so that decaying wood can be considered a specialist habitat in its own right. With some specialists considering a multitude of sub-habitats and micro-ecosystems the recycling of wood, from its decline and death to its reuse as organic nutrients by living trees, can account for well over two thirds of the live processes within an arboreal ecosystem.

The figures are quite astounding, just considering the invertebrates that exist and depend on the decaying wood habitat, which include over 1,700 species in Britain, accounting for 6 % of total British Fauna. The worrying fact is that 40 % are either British Red Data Book Species or labelled nationally

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scarce and the list of endangered species is growing. In an effort to reduce potential losses, the JNCC* and RSPB** produced a practical handbook called ‘Habitat Management for Invertebrates’, which was republished in 2001.

For those of you with a background in woodland management, Forest Enterprise produced a publication in 2002, called ‘Life in the Deadwood – A guide to managing deadwood in the Forestry Commission forests’. The cynical among you may think that this is a booklet on early retirement for foresters, as the Forestry Commission (FC) undergoes another change of identity. However, the FC have been considering the importance of dead wood in forest systems for some time now and another useful publication was published in 1993 called The Conservation Management of Deadwood in Forests, Research information Note 241.

The current emphasis on biodiversity and protected species, which has come from European and international agreements and directives, has forced a change in management strategies and a shift in long term objectives. However, there is revolution afoot, with more and more people, and organisations, recognising the need to focus on a broader picture. In conservation the world over, the time and money has been invested in ‘fire fighting’, to protect and preserve endangered populations of particular species.

The solution is one that manages the system, rather than concentrating on its component parts, if we can maintain healthy ecosystems the biodiversity should take care of itself. However, we cannot and should not try to force long-term change, if we are to be successful in sustainable conservation our role needs to be one of encouragement and persuasion.

Historically, woodland managers have removed dead wood on the basis of hygiene, to protect the timber resource from what has traditionally been perceived as pests, like insects and fungi. This is also true of many, parkland and garden sites managed by arborists, where dead wood in trees is also seen as a liability, and is removed for fear it may fall and injure someone. The result is that there is simply not enough decaying wood habitat to sustain populations of many key species of conservation importance.

Dead and dying trees play a vital role in the functioning and productivity of arboreal ecosystems through effects on biodiversity, carbon storage, soil nutrients cycling, energy flows, hydrological processes and natural regeneration of trees (Humphrey et al, Life in the Deadwood). This is a point now generally recognised, but this has not always been the case. The generations of managers that have religiously felled and removed dead and dying trees, has left us with a huge shortage, which is likely to take decades to replace.

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The generation gap is aptly demonstrated when we look at the rare species, which are associated with our ancient and veteran trees. Many of these are only found on sites where there has been a continuity of decaying wood habitat for hundreds of years. However, ancient trees may appear plentiful today, but for how much longer? Next time you visit a site containing ancient trees, look around at the rest of the wood or parkland, and consider where the next generation will come from.

The organisms that rely on decaying wood habitat are becoming increasingly isolated, in time and place. This is made worse by their lack of mobility, which means that the creation of an intermediary ‘bridge habitat’, is essential if these species are to survive. This is a fundamental part of our involvement in the sustainability of arboreal ecosystems and the maintenance of biodiversity associated with healthy trees.

There are two distinct types of decaying wood habitat, the first is associated with standing dead trunks, limbs or branches left around the outside of the tree, while the second is found within the trunks and branches themselves, where the decay forms cavities. It is important to be aware of this distinction because the habitats that are created are quite different and require specific techniques to recreate them.

Standing dead wood, whether as whole trunks or branches, within the crown of otherwise healthy trees, is relatively easy to replace by resurrecting trunks and leaving dead trees standing as monoliths. This type of decaying wood habitat breaks down from the outside in, providing a large surface area for occupation by invertebrates, fungi, lichens and mosses. However, the habitat created tends to be quite dry with the wood effectively seasoning as a standing trunk and retaining very little in the way of moisture.

Whereas, for the creation of the decaying wood habitat found within the trunks and branches of living trees, the techniques involved are not quite so simple. These decaying wood features decompose from the inside out, forming cavities, rot holes and hollow trunks, which are created by invertebrates and fungi, but go on to provide shelter for a diversity of birds, small mammals and reptiles. Such features frequently collect rainwater and the decay of the wood creates a moist humid atmosphere, which is preferentially used by a diversity of specialist organisms.

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Creating the habitat Training as a practical arborist has progressed over the years, from the days of old when tree pruning work involved carting a hand axe and cross cut saw around the tree, through the era of flush cutting and cavity excavation, to the enlightenment of target pruning and an understanding of CODIT (Compartmentalisation Of Decay In Trees). However, modern pruning techniques may prolong the safe useful life of the trees in our parks and gardens, but they are threatening the sustainability of arboreal ecosystems, and potentially the life expectancy of the tree themselves.

There is a tendency to use pruning techniques, like reduction or thinning, to maintain trees in a particular form or shape. Our use of terminology is prone to describing a particular state, like dead wood for instance, rather than considering the process of decay, hence decaying wood. When we look at managing a process, the emphasis shifts, because this involves an understanding of how things change as they adapt within a natural system.

To create the bridge habitat so desperately needed by some of our rarest flora and fauna, we are going to have to adopt destructive pruning techniques, which will contradict much of our formal training. However, our knowledge of tree biology is going to be essential, because if these methods are going to succeed we need to mimic the natural processes of tree decline, which is a slow progressional balance.

The term veteranisation is being used to describe destructive pruning methods, which accelerate the ageing process of trees, by inducing controlled stress. We do not have the knowledge or understanding to duplicate nature, because natural tree decline starts below ground, when the root system becomes exhausted and can no longer support a full crown of leaves. The transportation paths then start to break up and the tree progresses into a stage of retrenchment, like an army in retreat, resources are moved to a more central location. However, by incorporating sensitive soil excavation technology such as compressed air and high volume vacuums the focus of tree pruning could well move to look below ground.

Arboriculture has a lot to learn form the work of specialist bonsai tree growers.

The selective use of destructive pruning methods, that involve natural

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fracture techniques and coronet cuts, encourages premature retrenchment by reducing the crown area, while providing niche habitat for decaying wood organisms. This veteranisation of healthy trees is an essential part of the management of arboreal ecosystems, particularly in association with ancient decaying wood habitats where the generation gap is greatest. It can also be used instead of natural target pruning when managing hazardous trees, by reducing the potential for a lever arm to fail, while also retaining more structure within the trees crown.

Research into the sustainable management of ancient trees has been the focus of the Ancient Tree Forum (www.ancient-tree-forum.org.uk) for over fifteen years now. A pruning method known as restoration pruning became a recognised system of trying to reinstate lapsed pollards, which had become unstable. This involved the selective reduction work necessary to restore a more uniform and sustainable crown form.

There are some, who would express reservations about the use of the term restoration pruning. This is because it is in principle, a descriptive term for, a method of restoring, reinstating and imposing a physical state on the tree, which we perceive to be desirable with consideration to the management objectives of tree longevity and safety.

However, ideas are evolving and a new term has been suggested by Paul Muir, of Treework Environmental Consultancy (www.treeworks.co.uk), that of ‘retrenchment pruning’, where the idea is to mimic the natural processes, encouraging a progression to a more sustainable structural form, which considers the tree’s physiological systems and the natural maturing process of aging through to ultimate decline and death.

Summary The recognition that decaying wood habitat is a dynamic system of processes, which are a constantly evolving part of the arboreal ecosystem, is an important step towards its successful and sustainable management.

It is also a demonstration of how the terms we use can influence our perception of the management objectives within complete tree care. Our role as arboricultural managers is one of careful guidance, to encourage and support natural processes, not to impose a physical form or state to fit our ideas of what is right.

We must strengthen our recognition for the fact that trees live within a different time frame to us mere humans. Their living processes are almost the ultimate in sustainability, to a point where, in the right circumstances, they have the capability to attain immortality. A paper was published in the Arboricultural Journal (Vol.26 No.3 Sep 2002 pp 213-238) by Neville Fay called ‘Environmental arboriculture, tree ecology and veteran tree management’, which stresses the management impacts of tree life spans measured in hundreds of years, and in some cases millennia.

The implications of this are that the component parts of arboreal ecosystems can undergo cyclic fluctuations, which are measured in centuries.

The knowledge we use to develop tree management strategies, must have a depth of understanding that considers the tree’s interrelationship with its environment and other organisms, included within a broad arboreal ecosystem. It is also essential to have an appreciation of the ageing process of trees and be aware that different management methods are needed, which are sustainable in the context of tree longevity. * Joint Nature Conservation Committee ** Royal Society for the Protection of Birds http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/lifeinthedeadwood.pdf/$FILE/lifeinthedead wood.pdf

This example shows an oak ‘Monolith’ where, due to structural instability, the branches and crown of the tree have been removed, to enable retention of the trunk as decaying wood habitat within the formal gardens associated with White Lodge, Richmond Park, London.

Sustainable conservation The creation of bridge habitats is a lengthy process, so consideration has to be given to the sustainability of the existing decaying wood, within our ancient arboreal habitats. The slow process of decay can significantly reduce the integral strength of trees, compromising their structural stability, ultimately leading to partial then total collapse. This is a natural progression and would not normally be a problem, but our obsession with the removal of, what has been perceived as, dead wood now means that for many organisms, there may be no where else to go.

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Arboricultural, Forestry & Woodland Insurance You are specialists, so are we.

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How much decaying wood and where?

An alliterative phrase adopted and promoted by Ted Green, is a ‘Sustainable, Successional, Structural, Supply of decaying wood’, which sums it up neatly, but the implications may not be immediately obvious.

However, it is clear that an arboreal ecosystem needs just that, if it is to support a diversity of organisms, and maintain ecological integrity. It is a description of the level that needs to be achieved if our creation, management and maintenance of decaying wood habitat is going to be anywhere close to the natural system.

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It is however, difficult to accomplish something even near a natural state, when we have no real idea what that might be like, since it infers the absence of human manipulation. We therefore face a challenge where the ultimate goal is unobtainable, so it is important that our aims are based on viable benchmarks. This is exactly what Jill Butler, Fred Currie and Keith Kirby have attempted to do with a paper called ‘There’s life in that dead wood – so leave some in your woodland’ published in the Quarterly Journal of Forestry April 2002 (Vol.96 No.2 131-137).

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The arboreal ecosystem relies on a sustainable supply of decaying wood, because the process provides a range of habitat types, which are utilised by a large number of different organisms, which are in turn responsible for a particular stage of decomposition. It is therefore an absolute necessity that there is enough decaying wood around to provide the range of conditions needed to support these organisms.

Visit us on stand T2 at the 2007 Arb Trade Fair where you can see our software systems in action and discuss how WoodPlan can work for you.

To achieve a sustainable supply of decaying wood, with out the necessity to keep importing new material to a site, we have to encourage a successional ecosystem. It is a fundamental part of managing decaying wood habitat, that there is the diversity of niches, available at any one time, to support the full range of organisms associated with decaying wood.

To receive a free product brochure, arrange a demo or for further information call 01340 881 236 or log on to www.woodplan.co.uk

Finally, we have to appreciate that arboreal ecosystems have multiple levels, and the creation, management or maintenance of this habitat needs to work in a structural way. It is not sufficient to have a sustainable, successional, supply of decaying wood on the ground, in piles of logs or brash wood.

There needs to be decaying wood in all of the following places; ! dead limbs on living trees; ! decay columns in trunks and main branches; ! rot holes in standing trees; ! sap runs from decaying cavities or recent wounds; ! dead bark on standing trees; ! standing dead trees; ! fallen trunks and large branches; ! fallen small branches and twigs; ! dead tree stumps and old coppice stools; ! exposed root plates of wind blown trees; ! decaying wood in water courses; and it is important to have all of the above in a diversity of locations, and conditions, in full sun, dense shade and various stages in between.

Therefore our management goal is a Sustainable, Successional, Structural, Supply of Decaying Wood.

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TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

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Kit Matters The Karabiner - by Wayne Ellis of ISC Selecting The Correct Chain For Your Saw

by Ian Morgan of B.A.S.E UK

Bent bar or forged – Do you know the difference ?

Steel and aluminium connectors have been on the market for many years and on the whole are well proven to be safe.

Karabiner is the generic term for connectors with rotating gate mechanisms and snaphook is the generic term for connectors with flat double-action gate mechanisms. Wayne Ellis of ISC provides a background to their manufacture, load testing, quality control and maintenance.

There are many different types of gate mechanism available on karabiners from Screwgate (which are effectively outlawed in the arborist industry), through 2-way twist, 3-way twist (most commonly used in the Arborist industry) and even 4-way twist. In addition there are other very specific gate types such as Petzl’s Ball-Lock or ISC’s Springlock both of which are a variation on the theme of rotating barrels.

Typically steel karabiners are used in rigging kits and aluminium karabiners used in climbing kits. The main reason for this is strength to weight ratio.

Most good steel karabiners have an MBS (minimum breaking strength) of 35kN - 70kN (approx 3.5t – 7t) whereas aluminium karabiners will typically be between 25kN – 40kN (approx 2.5t – 4t), depending on the design and grade of aluminium used.

Manufacturers routinely use MBS as the means of identifying overall strength of their metal products. By doing this the user can de-rate a product by whatever factor of safety is appropriate, for the specific industry application, without any confusion.

The use of MBS also allows a clear standard by which the user can compare products and also a clear baseline to assist in choosing the correct product for any job. MBS figures are derived from static testing the parameters for which are clearly defined in international standards.

Forged Karabiners are generally stronger because they are less ductile (the material component is less susceptible to flex). The production method is just as important as the design, because the strength of a karabiner is dictated by how much load can be directed down the spine.

The weakest point of any karabiner is where the gate mechanism and the karabiner body meet. Forged karabiners can be designed so that the major axis is in the correct alignment but also to ensure that the cross-section of the spine is the strongest possible.

Flaws in the manufacturing process should be spotted at final inspection and a karabiner with a potentially dangerous flaw should never hit the market. Cracks in connector bodies are most often seen in forged products and these are potentially dangerous.

However, it is important to understand the difference between structural flaws and cosmetic flaws, as the latter are also seen often in forged products but they are not dangerous. This is why reputable manufacturers have very strict test and inspection regimes under an ISO 9000 quality assurance system and why most carry product liability insurance to cover any eventuality. Typically a thorough quality control system will include: ! ! ! ! !

Mid-process inspections of components whether made in-house or sub-contracted.

Assembly and function test by competent person Proof load and rectification by a different competent inspector Batch destruction testing using a recognised sample formula by a QC inspector Batch relevant certificates of conformity

Modes of failure should be fairly consistent and this is one way of identifying if there are problems with a particular batch of material. Throughout the manufacturing process there are a range of variables that could alter the strength and therefore function of a connector, for example, wear/age of forging tools, heat treatment process, stamping process, machining tolerances, plating and anodising variables, which is why it is so important to have these extensive checks.

Load testing rig used as part of the quality control procedure where a selected number of karabiners are loaded to the point of failure, to ensure that the manufacturing process and the materials used are producing a product that complies with industry standards.

There is a further difference in MBS created by different production techniques. Typically connectors are either made by bending bar (10-14mm in diameter) into the required shape or by forging (pressing) into the required shape.

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The karabiner on the right has been bent out of a single bar, while the one on the left has been made by forging.

However, the different types of Karabiner have both failed in a similar way, where the nose hook, connects with the gate.

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The mode of failure should always be at the weakest point of the karabiner which is generally around the nose. Either the nose will break or the rivet inside the gate will snap. The rivet has always been considered as the weakest point and therefore we have seen the introduction of the Keylock system (primarily forged connectors) by Kong and Petzl, and the ‘Blind’ system from ISC. Both of these do away with the traditional rivet in favour of machining a slot in the gate, which fits snugly around the keylock or blind nose. These have an added advantage in that the traditional ‘hook’ nose can snag annoyingly on webbing or rope as you detach but these wont.

Selecting correct chain for saw.

Hopefully with the last two issues of Total Arb you will have seen how to check and service your guide bar to ensure it is in a good condition and is safe to use. Now I want to look at how you make sure you have the chain fitted to your saw that is compatible.

Careful design of Karabiners ensures that the weakest point will always be the gate, which can be seen here. The shape is also designed so that the Karabiner is almost as strong without the gate mechanism as it is with.

Therefore the secure gate is only really there to retain the rope.

Incidentally, this is one of the main reasons why products from reputable manufacturers tends to be more expensive as not only is the QC process time-consuming and labour intensive, but you are paying for the guarantee of quality workmanship and for the guarantee that you can hang your life off them.

It is a common misconception that the chain you have on your saw must be the same make as your saw. Providing that the chain meets the criteria for your saw it can be any make that is available; much the same as the tyres on your vehicle.

Depending on which regulation the user is working to (for example LOLER or PPE) recommended inspection periods differ, but the absolute minimum is an annual thorough examination by a competent person, however, more regular inspections will improve a users chance of spotting a problemunder LOLER the thorough inspection for PPE is 6 months. In fact pre-use inspections are the most vital part of any users inspection process, if they are done thoroughly enough the user would be able to detect potential problems quite quickly.

Good care and maintenance is essential. Compared to webbing/rope products, metal products do not really have a finite life. Whereas webbing products in particular are susceptible to UV degradation, mild corrosives and general wear and tear, steel products are not.

From the point of view of overall strength throughout the life of a connector there should be little that would significantly reduce it – other than any damage that would be visually obvious. The important issue with connectors and most other metal products such as pulleys is the correct workings of any moving parts and the correct use of the product.

The user is very reliant on his own training and experience, user instructions are usually available from the manufacturer and distributors, while the competent person or inspector regularly checking the equipment may also be able to assist, the information and advice offered can be quite subjective.

The recent report on Karabiner Safety in the Arboricultural Industry HSL/2003/18 (http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/hsl_pdf/2003/hsl0318.pdf) highlighted some of this and it has been an important document to assist reputable manufacturers in continuously improving their products.

Wayne Ellis is Commercial Director for ISC Ltd, a world renowned company specialising in the design, development and manufacture of innovative engineered components and other 'solutions in metal'. The modern factory has a CNC machine shop, aluminium foundry and metal finishing facility, and supplies products globally to the 'working at height' industry, which includes arborists, fire & rescue, rope access, and other industrial fall protection users, as well as the motor racing, military and other specialist markets.

TotalARB: a World of Trees June 2007

For example, providing the tyre size is compatible with your wheel rim it makes no difference to which brand of tyre you buy. There are three critical measurements you need to identify in order to purchase a chain that will fit your saw; these are length, pitch and gauge.

Length The Length of a chain is very easy to determine. It is quite simply an accurate count of the drive links, the drive links are the components that fit inside the groove of the guide bar. The most common way to order your chain would be with your bar length and saw model. However, it is easier

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Stihl produce a very inexpensive plastic measuring device (available from most saw dealers) that enables you to check the pitch of your chain; by presenting the cutters to the castellation around the edge of the plastic gauge until you find the castellation that matches your cutters you can identify the pitch of your chain. Stihl stamp the pitch of the chain (photo 2) on each of the cutters (photo 3). Oregon use another system that I will look at shortly.

Gauge The gauge of the chain is basically the thickness of the drive link; this needs to be accurate as it must match the groove in the guide bar. If the gauge of your chain is too thick the chain may not even fit in the groove of the bar therefore you will not be able to fit the drive chain to the saw at all.

to just give the retailer a count of drive links. It is a simple process to count them; lay your chain on a flat surface and stretch the chain out so that the drive links are touching their opposites (photo 1) this will put them in pairs; now count the pairs and double the number of pairs to give you an accurate count of the drive links. Some chains have an odd number of drive links; make sure you count any odd drive links that do not make a pair at the end.

Pitch The pitch is the physical size or bulk of the chain and is a critical measurement as it must match the drive sprocket and the sprocket in the nose of the guide bar if it has one fitted. Chain saw chain comes in various sizes and the correct size must be chosen to suit your saw or more accurately the sprocket size on your saw.

It would be like taking a chain off a push bike and trying to fit it to a motorbike. Although the chains look similar in their construction the push bike chain would not fit correctly to the motorcycle sprocket, the push bike chain is too small in its construction.

You may find you can fit a chain with too large a gauge into a bar where the groove in the bar is worn through excessive use, this could mean that the drive links will fit in the bar but they may be too tight; this will result in excessive friction and therefore will generate excessive heat and potentially cause blueing on the bar.

!

If the gauge is to thin your chain will fit in the bar but there will be too much sideways play on the chain and this will result in uneven cutting and excessive wear to chain and bar components.

The technical way of measuring pitch is to take a measurement between the centres of three consecutive rivets and divide the measurement by two. The resulting measurement is the pitch of the chain. So if you have a saw with a 3/8 inch pitch drive sprocket you must fit a 3/8 inch pitch chain to the saw.

Measuring your gauge is straightforward; you can simply use an accurate set of callipers to measure the thickness of your drive link. Alternatively, the plastic gauge that Stihl produce has four grooves around the hole in the centre. Each of these grooves represents a different gauge of chain; simply find the groove which gives a snug fit to your drive link (photo 4 & photo 4 inset). Again, with Stihl the gauge is stamped on the drive link, so a number 3 on the drive link would be 1.3mm gauge and a number 6 would be 1.6mm gauge (photo 3).

Oregon also identify the pitch and gauge on their chain but with a different system. Oregon identifies the pitch and the gauge of a chain by putting a unique number on the drive link. If you refer to the chart in the ‘Oregon Maintenance Manual’ available on their website www.oregonchain.co.uk you will find a column of chain numbers, if you find the number on the chart that relates to the number on your drive link, then the next two columns give you the pitch and the gauge of that chain. So the number on an Oregon chain drive link refers to the pitch and the gauge of that chain You can also look on your guide bar. Most bar manufacturers will laser etch onto the bar the three items of information you are required to match, the pitch, gauge and length. !

Next time we are going to look at the important task of sharpening, a task that needs to be carried out with understanding, care and attention.

Ian Morgan (B.A.S.E UK)

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Associations Arboricultural Association 41st National Arboriculture Conference As our environment changes around us we must refresh our knowledge and abilities to maintain the high standards that our industry strives to achieve. The Arboricultural Association’s 2007 Conference is designed to ensure that the professional arboriculturist is fully equipped to take on the increasingly demanding role that is expected of them.

The annual Arboricultural Association conference offers an ideal opportunity to maintain and increase your knowledge through the lecture sessions and the invaluable social interaction or networking, which makes each conference so vital in our day to day work.

profession are key to the implementation of Risk Decision Analysis – a perspective for arboriculture, which is the title of Prof Ball’s second presentation which covers a provisional case history of tree risks, tolerance and its influence on society.

Professional Development There are some unprecedented opportunities to maintain your continued professional development with presentations that will focus on key developments in arboriculture, including the following:

Further consideration to tree risk management will be offered by Richard Stead, Barrister, since 1979 specialising in personal injury and property damage, including that from trees. Richard acted for the Claimant in Poll v.

Earl of Morley and the Defendant in Corker v. Wilson, and also sits as a Recorder in the Crown and County Court. He will be give a presentation entitled ‘A Barrister’s view on responsibility for trees and legal liability’ that will consider the issues arising from recent cases, whether the court or the arboriculturist sets the standards, what is duty of care and who defines reasonableness. He will go on to ask the question: are there different duties/standards for different owners?

! The implications of working with the new pruning standard will be discussed; ! An update on the ever increasing threats of new and existing pests and diseases; ! A detailed look at risk management, with several presentations focusing on risk and responsibility, legislation and case law – a vital component of tree management in the UK in an increasingly litigious and climatically changing environment; ! Soils, the basic component of the trees support system, and one so easily ignored, will be considered and analysed; ! The role of trees in an urban setting will be explored and the use of trees in the design context of urban and spatial planning explained; ! The ever growing utility sector will be represented by the Utility Arboriculture Group with a wide ranging programme of lectures, demonstrations and competitions.

Roy Ilott, of Roy Ilott and Associates, Chartered Building Surveyors, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Member of the Expert Witness Institute, will be discussing the important subject of Ethics and Professional Conduct. This presentation offers an essential understanding of key aspects to operating within the guidelines of a professional Association. Going on to consider Conflict of Interest. What are the common causes of conflict of interest, how to recognise them as they emerge, who to tell, when to turn down a contract which might lead to conflict. With yet another issue placed on professional consultants the presentation will deal with the implications of Managing client pressure. Your client is paying you, and wants you to say certain things, so how do you respond when the facts as you see them differ from what your client wants to hear.

Neville Fay of Treework Environmental Practice will lead a comprehensive look at The Future of Tree Risks, exploring how the arboricultural industry can take the lead and influence risk perception and management. Considering how this process will need wide ranging support to be effective and will need input from risk analysis experts. Such a person is Professor Ball, Professor of Risk Management at Middlesex University. Consultant to the UN, WHO, EU, government departments and the public and private sectors on risk and safety, who will give a presentation on Avoiding Risky Mistakes: applying the experience from other industry sectors. Issues in the management of risks in UK society and their implications for the arboricultural

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Meanwhile, Jeremy Barrell has a reputation for delivering innovative and practical solutions inspired by his experience at the head of a well established UK tree consultancy and he will be considering Arboricultural Air Conditioning. He believes that as global warming bites, the argument about the benefit of urban trees is won, so the emerging challenge for arboriculture is to discover how to grow trees that will survive the toughest of conditions to deliver those benefits.

In another session Alan Simson, a chartered landscape architect and an urban forester, with extensive experience in both the private and the public sector and higher education. With a background as leader of EU urban forestry research projects, working on behalf of the UK, and as jointcoordinator of the European Forum on Urban Forestry while being actively involved in many other tree-related government and non-government groups, his presentation is entitled ‘The Place of Trees in the City of the Future’.

In the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, trees were an essential component of the urban culture of the civilised city. Since the mid-1900s changes have relegated trees to the role of ‘cosmetic beautifiers’, deployed or removed at will. The city of the future is only likely to survive socially, economically and culturally if trees are again regarded and accommodated as a metaphysic and not a luxury. Arboriculture will have to change to meet this challenge.

Andrew Cowan, Neil Taylor & Dermot Ward of ArborEcology, a consultancy dealing with arboricultural & ecological issues both individually and in combination, will give a presentation entitled Tree Root Exposure – Construction Within the Root Protection Area (RPA). The speakers will present a case study illustrating the way root investigation techniques can be used to inform planning decisions, enabling successful construction within the RPA and increasing the protection given to tree roots. The company uses compressed air excavation tools with soil vacuums to sensitively expose tree roots to enable development decisions to be made on an informed basis.

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Networking The trade exhibition running alongside the Conference is an ideal opportunity to explore the new technology open to the industry and avail yourself of more books and information. The field trip, refreshment breaks, receptions and Annual Dinner allows plenty of time for lively debate and conversation enabling you to soak up the knowledge and experience of other delegates.

Warwick Warwick University’s Conference Centre offers a village environment in 700 acres of parkland. The lecture theatres and exhibition centre are ideally located in the same building, with the dining facilities, accommodation and outdoor activities all situated within a 10 minute walk. The venue boasts state-of-the-art facilities and award-winning food, and the en-suite bedrooms come equipped with added extras such as tea and coffee making facilities to make your stay more comfortable.

In this respect you are invited to apply for a free “Full Conference” package (09:00 Monday 3 September to 17:00 Wednesday 5 September all inclusive – attendance at lectures, seminars, the trade exhibition, the competitions and awards, all meals, refreshments, wine receptions and accommodation included).

To apply please describe why the benefactor should support your attendance at Conference in no more than 500 words and submit it to the Immediate Past Chairman, Arboricultural Association, Ampfield House, Ampfield, Romsey, Hants, SO51 9PA marked Private and Confidential by Tuesday 31 July 2007. The benefactor does not want to see the applications and names and addresses will be removed before the applications are passed to the assessor.

What’s the catch you ask? There isn’t one. Yes, there are some genuinely nice people out there!

All enquiries: Arboricultural Association Ampfield House, Ampfield, Romsey, Hants, SO51 9PA. UK T: 01794 368717 F: 01794 368978 E: admin@trees.org.uk W: www.trees.org.uk

Arboricultural Association Memorial Trust Fund £10,000 available for research from the Arboricultural Association

!Exclusive Trip to IOG SALTEX This year the Association is pleased to announce a special package for its conference delegates and members. On Thursday 6 September 2007, the day after the Conference finishes, the Institute of Groundsmanship will provide ! FREE transport from Warwick University to IOG SALTEX (Windsor Racecourse) and back ! FREE entrance to IOG SALTEX ! FREE lunch at IOG SALTEX Features of interest to arboriculturists at IOG SALTEX include: ! The World of Arb – practical tree climbing demonstrations, in association with Treevolution (full programme on www.iogsaltex.co.uk) ! Free seminar by the Arboricultural Association on BS5837 Trees in Relation to Construction ! Leading suppliers of arboricultural equipment including Honey Brothers, Stihl, CTE, Planet Platforms, Promax Access, The Treecare Company, Timberwolf, Woodmizer UK, Arboreater Brushwood Chippers, Chippers International, A Plant, AP Lifting Gear, Bobcat Europe, CPM Cleartrack Plant & Machinery, Eric Hunter, Global Recycling Solutions, GreenMech, Universal Hydraulic System (K9 Europe), Liston Equipment, Ryetec Industrial Equipment, Swan Plant, Terrain Aeration Services, Waste Whacker

Research is recognised as critical to the development of the arboricultural profession, because it is the application of the findings of this research that make the management and understanding of trees possible. Research is not necessarily well rewarded financially and the associated costs can be high, particularly for those undertaking projects whilst in higher education as a dissertation or thesis.

In recognition of this, the Arboricultural Association offers a grant to support research that is relevant to arboriculture and undertaken in the UK. There have recently been significant changes to the arrangements associated with the grant, aimed at further encouragement for research: Most importantly the value of the award has been increased to £10,000 The scope of the research project has been widened to include projects that are directly concerned with practical arboriculture or other related environmental topics and previously unsuccessful applicants can re-apply.

Finally, the conditions associated with the award have been made less onerous. The successful applicant will only be required to meet one of the following: produce a paper for the Conference or the Journal, write an article for the Newsletter or give a demonstration at the Trade Fair.

Of course it is important that this information is still readily accessible and so the AA emphasises that a copy of the research paper will be held at its headquarters.

This offer is also available to AA members not attending the conference who can either benefit from free transport from and returning to Warwick University, or make their own travel arrangements. Although free, places must be booked on the Conference booking form and are available on a first comefirst served basis.

For further information, interested candidates should visit the web site www.trees.org.uk/downloads/researchgrant.pdf where application forms and guidance notes can be downloaded. The application form requires details of the project aims and objectives, the project team, the research methods to be used, the significance to arboriculture, project timescales and the funding requirements for the project.

Anonymous Benefactor Supports the Arboricultural Profession The AA has been in discussions with an anonymous benefactor who would like somehow to support arboriculture. The result is that the benefactor will fund two places at this Conference for ‘worthy applicants’.

The closing date for applications is 30 September of each year. All applications received in the previous 12 months will be considered at the October meeting of the AA Education and Training Committee. The successful applicant (or applicants if the grant is to be divided) will be awarded the grant in November.

The benefactor has not specified any criteria against which applicants will be judged – all he requires is that the process of application and assessment must be simple.

If you have an idea for a suitable research project, but are not sure on whether it may be suitable please do not hesitate to contact the AA for guidance.

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International Society of Arboriculture UK & Ireland David Lloyd-Jones, Introduces the Consulting Arborists Society The Consulting Arborists Society (CAS) is a Professional Affiliate of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) UK & Ireland Chapter and the ISA is the biggest international tree association with over 20,000 members worldwide.

David Lloyd-Jones explains that all Professional Members are expected to provide copies of their professional indemnity insurance and relevant qualifications as pre-requisite to joining.

The www.ConsultingArboristSociety.com website is a valuable promotional resource that can be utilised by the general public and professional associates alike to help them find an appropriately trained tree consultant in their area.. The site offers information on why it is important to employ an appropriately trained and qualified tree consultant that can provide professional reports to satisfy a range of everyday tree issues.

CAS is organised to help bring arboricultural research to bear in commercial applications. By reinforcing the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of product developers, CAS is the natural incubator for innovative application of Arboricultural research, which means that the innovative ideas fluidly becomes applicable procedures.

Therefore for the researcher, innovator or product developer, CAS is the natural partner to help protect, develop and commercially apply your product.

For the Tree Consultant, CAS is the natural partner to give you first access to the next generation of tree consultancy products and keep your reports up to date.

For tree consultancy clients, (tree owners), CAS is the place for you to find people who have the latest and most up to date ways to assess and manage your trees and address the particular tree related problems that you may experience.

CAS 2007 AGM at Capel Manor’s Celebration of Trees The annual general meeting (AGM) for the Consulting Arborists Society (CAS) was held on the 26th April, at Capel Manor College, Enfield, London.

Given the fact that CAS Members have not heard a great deal from me in the past year because of my activity as ISA UK & Ireland President, I was amazed that over 30% of the membership turned up to get actively involved and make their voices heard.

I think the unveiling of the new CAS website was a significant factor and that alone demonstrated I had in fact been rather busy, quietly building this and other things for the future of CAS. I am pleased to say that I have not heard any criticism for the website, only praise, and I think it has prompted other people to look at their own websites and compare them to the new CAS website.

I also think that the new Area of Professional Competence (APC) is another factor. Dealga O’Callaghan’s new TPO seminar was a resounding success, at least to judge by the verbal reactions from the people attending.

Whatever the reasons, it was immensely encouraging to me to see such interest in CAS at the AGM and that has now translated to a proper, voted in place, management team, and a particularly capable management team at that.

Mark Carter is heading up the AMIUG APC and his review of the report format produced some interesting topics for discussion. This will lead to some new additions to the AMIUG format that will be exclusively CAS copyright. Those enhancements will make the CAS Homebuyers Tree Report Format more refined and suitable by design for the purpose that clients engage us to deal with.

Adam Hollis, will head up the Tree Valuation APC. Having produced a UK specific Regional Plant Appraisal Guide to supplement the Council for Tree & Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) Tree Valuations in this country he is the best placed of anybody to provide guidance for everybody involved in CTLA Tree Valuations in the UK.

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Robert Yates will continue to represent CAS on the Board of Directors (BoD) of the ISA. This is an important role because CAS represents the ISA UK & Ireland Chapter on all matters relating to Consulting Arboriculture.

Dealga O’Callaghan will head up the TPO APC during the critical period in which it is now, that is, during its initial promotional period. Following that there is no doubt that somebody will rise from the ranks of attendees to represent those subscribing to TPO CAS Professional Membership.

Karl Forkaseiwicz will continue as CAS Newsletter editor in this critical period.

Everybody on the management team understands that the CAS Newsletter must grow with the aspirations and emerging success of CAS, so all have committed to helping Karl by submitting incisive articles.

The old CAS newsletters will now be made available to non CAS members (consultants, contractors and the general public) via our website and forthcoming issues will be available for supply by email a few months after they are sent to current CAS members. Then there is the current "News" page. That will include headlines relevant to consulting arborists and their clients, as they happen.

CAS has, after an interesting few years, emerged with a clear idea of what it is and what its role in UK Arboriculture is. The messages contained within the new website are powerful as they capture the clear focus of CAS, which is, the commercial and practical application of innovative tree related research.

CAS is therefore the test bed for new ideas. If those ideas meet a need that can be commercially viable, by which I mean if clients buy the services of people completing our seminars, then new products and innovative training providers will find a good vector for their products in CAS. CAS now has a top class website, which will improve as it becomes populated with more members and as those members submit case histories. In fact those case histories will grow into a searchable resource that members of the public can use to see if their particular problem is featured. After all, find the problem featured and you are one step closer to finding the solution We have good services to offer on that website and we are growing consistently in a variety of ways for the first time in a while. More than that though, the growth is underpinned by the fact that CAS creates value. ! ! ! !

“Value” for the public using the website to find a service "Value" for the public trying to research the problem affecting their tree “Value” for training providers in helping protect and distribute their products & “Value” in that we are fast becoming the best place to advertise your services for a Tree Consultant in the UK.

Add to those strengths the fact that CAS is now securely funded (through the careful use of members subscriptions over the years), and placed to use those funds to actively promote the new website and I think it is obvious that CAS is likely to perform very well for members and clients alike.

What you see is what you get. Read the website and specifically, “Join CAS” and “Principles”.

We have more clarity of purpose that any other tree association. That clarity of purpose translates into effective access to the services that clients want.

David Lloyd-Jones CAS Chairman 2003-2007

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Professionals around the world rely on knowledge to get the tough jobs done.

The International Society of Arboriculture offers a complete line of information tools for tree care.

MEMBERSHIP: Get access to news, networks, and educational opportunities

CERTIFICATION: People want proof you can handle the big jobs.

An ISA credential confirms your knowledge.

INTERNATIONAL TREE CLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIP: ISA events showcase the skills of the best climbers in front of an international audience.

To learn more about ISA membership and certifications visit www.isa-arbor.com or the ISA/UKI Chapter www.isa-uki.org to see for yourself.

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ISA United Kingdom & Ireland Chapter How To Join, and why you should.

2007 is shaping up as a period of the most dramatic growth in the numbers of ISA UK+I Members since the early 90’s.

Perhaps that is because it is now accepted that the ISA represents the individual, helping facilitate personal development. Then it could be because of the Tree Climbing Championships that have literally lit a fire under the pace of product and technique development.

Lets not forget the Professional Affiliations representing the specific interests of certain sectors of our industry. Of course we hope that in part it’s the representation that we offer but we would have to concede that it could simply be that UK Arborists want to expose themselves to influences from the wide world of Arboriculture and become integral members of the largest collection of tree professionals, (currently numbering over 20,000 members) worldwide.

Whatever the reasons, our membership is growing and we are very proud of that. In fact, in recognition of the faith and investment that more and more UK Arborists are placing with us, we are in process of delivering a range of brand new ISA UK+I Chapter Member benefits that will be announced very soon. We are confident that our existing members will wholeheartedly approve and we are confident that others will vote with their feet.

To Join the UK&I Chapter now, simply contact Jean at the Chapter office. 148 Hydes Road, Wednesbury, West Midlands, WS10 0DR. Tel. / Fax 0121 556 8302

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How we work We pride ourselves on our flexible approach to recruitment and can provide a range of services depending on the vacancy.

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Job vacancies Job vacancies Job vacancies Job vacancies Job vacancies Job Title: Landscape Supervisor Location: East London Salary: £23k - £28k plus benefits Reference: 1395 Description: A leading UK company responsible for maintaining London's motorways and trunk roads is looking to take on a Landscape Supervisor.

Job Title: Tree Surgeon Location: Essex Salary: £20k - £25k Reference: 1272 Description: This is an exciting opportunity for a passionate Tree Surgeon with 3+ years experience to become an important team member within a market leading grounds maintenance company.

Job Title: Arboriculture Consultant Location: North West Salary: £22k - £28k Reference: 1276 Description: Experienced Arboriculture Consultant required to work within a multi-disciplinary team that provides planning expertise to a number of prestigious clients.

Job Title: Tree Surgeon Location: SW London Salary: £18k - £25k Reference: 1410 Description: One of the world's leading providers of environmental solutions are currently looking to recruit two experienced Tree Surgeons, to undertake all aspects of tree maintenance across a range of sites in the UK.

Job Title: Senior Ecologist Location: Cornwall Salary: £25k - £30k Reference: 1425 Description: A multi-disciplinary and successful environmental consultancy focusing on ecology and agriculture are looking to recruit a Senior Ecologist, who can develop the consultancy both on a local and wider UK basis.

Job Title: Arboriculture Consultant Location: Essex Salary: £27k - £35k Reference: 1427 Description: One of the biggest names in Arboriculture is currently looking to recruit two experienced Arboriculture Consultants to work alongside the Regional Director on field based project management.

Job Title: Arboriculture Consultant Location: Suffolk Salary: £Negotiable Reference: 1300 Description: One of the UK's leading planning consultancies is looking to hire a talented Arboriculture Consultant. The practice undertakes projects across a wide range of disciplines, including landscape architecture, planning, EIA, ecology and arboriculture.

Job Title: Consultant Ecologists Location: South West / East (Home Based) Salary: £20k - £33k Reference: 1395 Description: Our client is an employee owned company looking for a Senior Ecological Consultant and Consultant Ecologists to join their expanding team at their picturesque offices near Bath. They are also offering Home Working opportunities for Consultants based in the South East.

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Rants & Raves We have a selection of rants for you this issue, with a common theme that could reflect a culture of careless decision making from arboricultural managers, consultants and local authority tree officers, which is threatening some of the most significant trees in the country and perhaps the sustainability of local tree populations.

In the UK we are particularly lucky in comparison to our European cousins or even our distant relations in the eastern seaboard of America, because we have a wealth of natural heritage in old trees that also have considerable local and national importance from our own cultural perspective as well. However, it is clearly apparent that their significance and intrinsic value is not appreciated by everyone. We start with a rather philosophical introduction of extracts taken from ‘The Body Language of Trees’ by Claus Mattheck and Helge Breloer, in the section Man’s Responsibility Towards Trees.

Man’s Responsibility Towards Trees A tree too has a right to die and it can be argued that we should find ways – whenever this is possible without danger or unreasonable expenditure – to allow it to die under the public gaze and without prolonging its life artificially.

In present day society, death takes place largely behind closed doors and alone; no longer in the company of those with whom we have shared our life in days of good health. Why should we not bring life full circle again and, for example, leave an old tree standing in a lovely public park and designate an area where it can die, surrounded by the bustle of the life of the park, through at a safe distance from passers-by?

What deep respect this dying giant of a tree will arouse, what reverence in the face of the long life that lies behind it and the suffering – as can be seen from the marks it bears – it has often endured. The contemplation of such a tree will remind us that life and death belong together and that man has no need to intervene and regulate everything, and should not appoint himself lord of life and death.

These thoughts may seem rather philosophical, but dead and dying trees are not just something for us to behold; they are also a habitat for many forms of wildlife which depend indirectly or directly on dead wood. Since trees in their dying and death are a source of life for other things, there is all the more reason to let some of them die naturally.

The fact remains, of course, that unhealthy, old and dying trees do endanger people, especially if these trees stand alongside busy roads and in heavily used parks. In these cases there must be a readiness to accept responsibility for trees in the positive sense of the word.

The Visual Tree Assessment method (VTA) that is described here (in the Body Language of Trees) is no routine method that guarantees safety without the practitioner putting his mind to it very seriously. VTA should train the eye of the practitioner and of the local authority officer to recognise trees that could be dangerous to persons or property. But reading a medial handbook will not, on its own, make you into a good doctor. Every diagnosis first requires a trained eye for the important symptoms a feeling for the living being – in this case a tree – that is to be assessed.

Mattheck and Breloer The Body Language of Trees

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The Wind Doth Blow I have no doubt every modern thinking arborist and many experienced foresters, that are now calling themselves arborists, would agree that a great wind or a hurricane is by far the best test for trees. A good blow is a natural and real test and surely should save a lot of time instead of running around with a rubber hammer, a Picus or any other gadget used to detect decay and hollowing.

However, presumably some people do not agree, because when a Picus test was used on a beautiful sycamore in Coniston in the Lake District, the interpretation of the extent of decay led them to decide to fell it. This decision was made despite the fact that two independent arboricultural consultants disagreed and suggested work to sympathetically reduce the crown sail area would enable safe retention of the tree as a valuable local amenity.

The decision to fell remained unchanged and by chance before it was cut down a great wind blew and blew. So called ‘healthy’ trees with their solid inflexible trunks fell down all over the place. In fact some sizeable trees blew over less than 100 metres from the venerable, yet supposedly ‘dangerous’ sycamore, but, guess what, this so called high risk tree remained unscathed. So would you, just after a great wind, have felled the sycamore?

If so why? Surely in this case whatever decay was shown on the Picus, it was insufficient to affect the tree. Perhaps instead it was telling us that the decay was allowing the tree as a hollow tube to be flexible enough to absorb the force of the wind. The decision to fell the tree is comparable to some medics declaring a man dead. However, as they lift him into the coffin he recovers, but because the decision has been made, the funeral arranged, they push him back and nail him down.

As a layman I have argued for many years that arboriculture is a profession that hasn’t stood still and new information and technology arrives daily. So the time has long passed when there should be a new qualification to weed out the poorly trained or people who haven’t changed their attitudes for 30 years or more.

Today, you meet so many people in the profession whose face remains a blank when you mention Alan Rayner and only play lip service to Alex Shigo and Claus Matteck. Those people who have had a good education in arboriculture would welcome and not fear a new examination, because the new qualification would command more recognition and would result in far fewer trees condemned.

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Every few weeks the Ancient Tree Forum, Woodland Trust Partnership receives another horror story about a tree or avenue declared unsafe and recommended for felling. Our first questions always are: who has made the decision? was the local Tree Officer involved? was a decision other than felling considered?

I remember reading an article about the wholesale removal of the great avenue at Hampton Court. It involved taking out four lines of mature limes of different ages, including some of the original ancient trees. The writer never mentioned whether he tried to persuade management to change their decision of wholesale removal by offering alternative approaches. My comments at the time were that if they had looked at the aftercare of other young replacement avenues nearby they would have seen that the trees were suffering primarily from deer damage. What was the point of felling and replanting this great avenue and wasting thousands of pounds when new trees are not being protected?

Recently two arborists in the Ancient Tree Forum have saved a couple of avenues by recommending tree work and the trees look really excellent - even to gardeners. The climbers that did the work got paid and the trees remained.

In a few years the tree climbers will return again and be paid. Hampton Court will not see a tree climber for perhaps the next 50 years unless he has got a spade!

Your profession means the care of trees and the trees need your advice that will keep them standing.

Ted Green Fungi First

Those we do know about we should be protecting, whether they contain bats (for example) or not. They should be subject to the same levels of scrutiny as European Protected Species’ (EPS) and be afforded exactly the same rights with appropriate penalties.

We can’t blame the Arb Officers as they are under their own set of pressures with their own objectives and targets and you can guarantee that these won’t provision for specifically conserving ancient / veteran trees.

Pressures come from all angles; we all know developers don’t really give a flying fig about the habitat or what is really on their sites, (other than clearing it all out), money counts for them and how many units they can get on a site.

The same goes for road developments, the officials won’t care about trees for as long as they have a hole up their nose. Compulsory Purchase Orders seem to take any real live relativity away. But, their activities are subject to the EPS legislation, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Habitats Regs etc. As a licensed bat worker I have worked with many ecological consultants and am very aware of the process requirements.

So what (real) protecting legislation for trees? Nothing.

Just to be clear this is not a criticism of Arb Officers, I have some as good friends and colleagues, (and I need them to authorise my tree works!), nor am I criticising the Picus, and, I’ve felled some trees which I regret bringing down so I don’t sit in a ‘holier than thou’ position. I have however, also advised on and am pleased to say retained many trees which would otherwise have been condemned to ground level based upon their ‘condition’.

Arboricultural Euthanasia What has wound me up is receiving our latest ‘Biological Records’ publication to read of yet another great tree which has been felled.

I don’t criticise the ATF or the Woodland Trust as these folks continue to push the cause for our trees and that in time there will be, I’m certain, great support from the respective governing authorities and managing bodies.

The article was well written and it described how following ‘a tree survey, at least three named fungi had been noted growing on the tree’ and that there was ‘further evidence of decay at the site of an old pruning scar’, it was then felt necessary and appropriate that a ‘Picus’ be employed before making a final decision.

I intentionally have not investigated this specific report as it is the essence of this particular event which I wish to use, not the specific action. Those involved took their respective decisions based upon what was relative ‘on the day’ and it’s all done and dusted now.

From the photos I saw, and no I wasn’t there before you start shouting, the decay was minimal, felling should never have happened.

The Arb team stated that ‘remedial works would not benefit the tree in the long term, nor would it prevent the tree’s ultimate demise (is anyone going to live for ever?!) brought on by these aggressive pathogens’, and, ‘it would therefore have to be felled on the grounds of safety’.

All was not lost though, don’t be down hearted, the residents were assured that, as the tree was TPO’d, a replacement would be ‘automatically planted’ in its place for their future (500 years on?!) enjoyment.

And so another great Oak is vaporised in front of our very eyes and erased from the world like some newsprint from Orwell’s great ‘1984’. You prove it was there. You describe its majesty, its 500 whatever years in growing. Yes, the locals can visualise it, because it was always there, standing as significant in their mind.

So what can we do about loosing yet another tree?

Ted and Jill and the good works of The Ancient Tree Forum have long since told us, and continue to do so, that in the UK we hold the greatest percentage of Europe’s ancient / veteran trees. I can recall a photo of Ted’s from years ago showing a plaque on a tree, possibly in Germany, which gave it ultimate protection and respect by everyone on the grounds that it was a ‘Nature Reserve’ to be conserved, and it was.

The issue is the total lack of processes and controls which are missing and are desperately needed NOW before so many more of the individual ‘big trees’ are gone. Can’t we at least implement an overview process for trees of a key age or size (I know that’s not precise) to be subject to more stringent sign off criteria or consideration?

I bet if the tree had a USB port we would raise more than enough money to sort it out.

Neil McLean.

Conservation Arborist and Engineer.

PS Just heard that they need to raise £25m to restore the Cutty Sark after its fire. You watch, they can, and they will raise the money. Our chip shop was rebuilt after the war too. You try rebuilding a tree.

Arboricultural Priorities A few weeks ago, news articles about London’s street trees were subtly drowned amongst news of the New Big Brother house, and Britney Spears polished head. From a political point of view it was clearly a good time to bury a bad news story, but as any of you in the tree world know, new agendas quickly spread the grapevine and become the talk of every sawdust filled cab.

So what’s all the excitement about? The London Assembly has launched an investigation into the reasons why the numbers of the capital’s street trees are declining so rapidly.

What have we got by the way of protection for these special trees?

NOTHING. We have got, amongst others, HAP’s, BAP’s and SAC’s, so as extreme examples, Windsor Great Park and the Cairngorms and their respective trees will be protected, and right they should be.

With over 7 million trees within the capital it is not surprising that many are under considerable pressure from development. We need houses and houses need space, but that’s that more obvious trend that is turning green to grey in the metro, and something that is fast becoming a fact of life.

But what about all of the superb individual trees which are being felled by the week in the suburbs and out in the sticks? I guess these fall into two categories, those we know about and those we don’t.

Meanwhile many of our originally Victorian and Georgian planted avenues are being placed under intense pressure by arboricultural consultants acting on behalf of insurance companies. Not helped by the change in climate, many

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properties over London and the southeast are suffering from movement, creating cracks and fissures, distortion in brick work and at a cost that homeowners and insurers are constantly eager to re-coup. It seems that the obvious solution is to subtract anything that is taking moisture from the shrinkable clay, which constitutes much of our soil layer.

Most of London is built on shrinkable clay, and it has always been built on, so called London clay. Whilst it is true that the clay is slowly slipping southwards by 1cm per year, it certainly didn’t slide itself under London overnight. For that reason, older buildings in the city have always moved, and in days of old, this was widely accepted, without a second thought let alone concern.

However with the relatively modern hard line approach taken by insurers, some contemporary homeowners and surveyors are far more concerned with the issue… and why not?!? Houses cost a lot of money. Houses are investments. Would you feel comfortable if your back door no longer shut due to distorted brick-work? I’m guessing not, but the instant solution offered by the fell and grind policy isn’t always the best, although unfortunately is the approach adopted by some, almost without consideration for other options.

Certain consultants facilitate this policy by stating that to effectively decrease water demand, a tree would need to be reduced by 70 – 90% and maintained at this size on an annual basis, thus reducing amenity value and increasing maintenance costs. I’m sure that this may be the case in some circumstances, but certainly not all.

Street tree management undertaken by certain London local authorities have stabilised most subsidence problems whilst retaining the all important amenity value at the same time. We all know about the health benefits associated with retaining trees in the built environment, and I’m sure we’re all aware of the increases tree lined avenues can contribute to property value so why do some local authorities so often close the case without researching fully into whether said tree is actually a contributing factor?

Roots of a vague variety of species ranging from Ligustrum to Wollemi Pine are found in BH1 (Bore Hole), They have tested positive for starch and the consultants site plan clearly shows a Sorbus on the highway, 6 meters from the property, but what about the mature 9ft privet hedge abutting the boundary wall!, or has that grown since the consultant undertook the survey 2 months ago?

Stick with me because I’m heading somewhere with this….

As I was walking the dog three weeks ago, I took a diverted route through the town to pick up the Sunday paper. As I walked round the corner, to my absolute disbelief the solitary mature Oak tree to the southern edge of the town had been HEAVILY reduced far beyond any previous reduction points with no consideration for marinating a good shape. Now this tree has been here for a long time and intrinsically contributes to the character of the area.

So why had it been so harshly treated?

I did my busy body bit and phoned up the council on the Monday. The tree was reduced as a result of a subsidence claim from the adjacent house, which happens to be about 19 meters away. Having had a sneaky peak at the front of the property myself, it must be said that there are no significant external signs of cracking and there is an abundance of third party vegetation to the rear of the property.

For all I know, investigations and monitoring may have legitimately proven the tree to be the cause of the damage, but having dealt with hundreds of tree damage claims myself, I feel that the most likely scenario is that of lack of resources or training in the council.

In short, it’s probably fine pre-empting a claim if the alleged trees display a medium to low amenity value, but high amenity trees really should only be pruned once all reasonable investigations have been insisted upon and found the tree to be the cause.

Sid Benecus London Tree Officer

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Objectives & Ideals To provide Arborists and their customers with reliable, unbiased, information, sample specifications, and answers to their questions, so they may be better informed.

A well-informed consumer is far more likely to become a satisfied customer... and each satisfied customer benefits all of us in the arboricultural industry.

Why use ‘Find an Arborist’ Arboricultural work is something that is, for the householder, undertaken rarely. It goes without saying that work on mature trees should be undertaken by suitably skilled professionals who can demonstrate a good record of sound practice. It is important to choose a qualified, dependable, contractor for this type of work, one who is used to working in high target risk areas such as urban roads and domestic gardens.

Since smaller businesses and private homeowners generally do not have the benefit of strict work specifications, trained inspectors or the technical expertise that local government contracting departments have at their disposal to control their projects, the following tips may be helpful toward selecting a reliable contractor and obtaining the best possible results.

Useful Tips for Tree Owners ! Select an arboricultural contractor known for high-quality work and that has a well-established reputation in the community. ! Ask your friends and neighbours for their recommendations, contact your local authority tree officer or contact the local tree warden for advice. ! Verify the contractor's insurance coverage (and technical certification, if required for specific tasks) ! If you obtain proposals from more than one contractor, ensure that all are quoting for the same job. You might also ask them if there was anything they would advise you to do differently. ! In order that true and valid comparisons can be made, between different contractor’s quotations, make a list of the work you want completed or ask an arboricultural consultant to produce one for you. ! When discussing an arboricultural project, be sure that all parties are agreed upon the work required. ! Visit past customers of the prospective contractor(s) and talk with the owners of the properties. Prospective contractors should be more than happy to tell you of other work done in the area. ! Always obtain and agree a written quotation, based on a detailed specification of the work you want done. This should detail every aspect of the contract to be completed.

If you are unable to verify references and reputation, it may be prudent to make provision to retain some portion of the payment due the contractor until there is complete satisfaction with the quality of the finished work.

It is customary for payment for smaller projects to be due "upon completion" and while retaining a portion is an option, unless you have agreed staged payments, our advice is always SEE THE JOB COMPLETED TO YOUR SATISFACTION BEFORE PARTING WITH ANY MONEY. Arboricultural Promotion Campaign The central ethos behind the Find an Arborist Campaign is the promotion of professional Arboriculture as a whole. We offer Arborists the opportunity to advertise their services within a central directory and provide their clients with an easy to use, comprehensive business listing service.

Promotion of the Find an Arborist campaign is being achieved through the publication of articles in gardening magazines, regional and national newspapers. These informative articles are written to educate the reader as well as publicise the values of using the Find an Arborist website.

The website directory offers a ‘one stop shop’ for clients to find suitably experienced, certified arborists who have lodged a copy of their current insurance with us. This is so clients can employ professionals with confidence.

For arborists we offer the opportunity to reduce advertising overheads by maximising their web presence on a dedicated website that prioritises promotion of quality tree care.

Joining the scheme There are criteria for joining and hard copy evidence is required before being enrolled onto the scheme. This will be stored at Total ARB head office.

Insurance and subscription dates are digitally recorded and a request for updated documentation will be automatically generated on an annual basis at least one month before renewal as a member of Find an Arborist and/or insurance if different.

If you manage a professional tree care company it is quick and easy to register on the Find an Arborist Campaign. www.findanarborist.com You will be asked to provide proof of adequate insurance, demonstrate that you are appropriately qualified and hold the right certificates to enable you to comply with relevant health and safety guidance and regulation.

Members of the Arboricultural Associations Approved Contractors (AAAC), Registered Consultants (AARC) and the ISA UK & Ireland, Consulting Arborists Society (CAS), qualify for a concessionary rate of £75.00, because their company credentials and insurance have already been scrutinised by the relevant association.

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