I nteresting tree growth observation

[madmapler]

I was walking a property line the other day where I had put duct tape around some small trees to mark the border about three years ago. I noticed that the adhesive had been releasing as the trees circumference increased. I could see easily how much the trees had grown and it was really interesting to see the growth rates on various species of trees and their surrounding conditions. I suppose you could mark the tape with indullable ink to get a more accurate reading or maybe theres a better method already being utilized(aside from measuring and recording). I have'nt put much thought into it really. I just thought it was neat and figured I'd pass it on. Any better ideas out there?

[spud]

I have test trees around my woods that I measure size and sugar. I put survey tap around the tree and measure the tree around the tape. My trees grow about 1/2 inch per year.

Spud

[madmapler]

Spud,

From looking at some of your other posts it looks as though you've got some pretty good woods up there. The thing I'm thinking about with the tape is that for pretty cheap money and not much time I can moniter as many trees as I like and can see at a glance how its doing whenever I'm in that part of the woods. I'm sure it stretches a little at first but it appears to be releasing as the tree grows and does'nt appear to be choking the tree at all. After 3 years the tape still seems to be gripping pretty well. As I said earlier, I just discovered it by chance and thought it was worth mentioning. I guess to be sure about it you should probably measure it for a few years to see how accurate it is. Gorilla tape might work better because it's stiffer and more durable than duct tape. Anyhow I'm going to experiment with it.

[Mark]

Dendrometer bands would be more accurate. Here are instructions how to make them.

http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/Dendrometer/

This link has a band that is more accurate but you don't need to have them that accurate for growth rate, but you may find it interesting.

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1440

[Noseguard76]

You can pick up a diameter tape pretty cheaply from Amazon or from any Forestry supply store. A diameter tape is a handy thing to have while wandering around a woodlot. See a tree of interest and you quickly have an accurate measurement. Last winter I measured a few hundred trees. I tried numbering trees with yellow crayon but that did not work too well. However, the data set was large enough that I can do the same this winter and get an average growth rate based off of the data. Or, I guess i should flag a few key trees and just measure those in the future. Anyway, the more time we spend in our woodlots the better educated we become. Did you know that the bark of the black cherry seedling smells like almonds when scratched? Yellow birch smells like spearmint.

[madmapler]

Thanks for the tips guys. Mark, I had actually been thinking about something along those lines and I had a feeling that something like it had to already be in existence.Thanks for the how-to.

[RC Maple]

I try to do some measuring and keep some records too. I starting doing that when I first noticed that I had a lot of sugar maples in my small woods. I wanted to know how many and how big. I bought some metal tree tags that could be written on and numbered them then wrote that number along with the circumference on the tag. I have went back and remeasured those trees and made notes about changes to the tree or storm damage in the notebook. I just use my regular tape measure to get the circumference and figure the diameter from there. A smaller tape or one meant for that job would be more flexible and more accurate but it's pretty close.

[spud]

I know I have read somewhere on Trader that maple trees grow the most in the fall. If this is true would that apply for all trees ( Apple trees also )? Will the tree keep growing right up till the frost freezes the roots? If so that would be late November. Thanks in advance.

Spud

[DrTimPerkins]

I know I have read somewhere on Trader that maple trees grow the most in the fall. If this is true would that apply for all trees ( Apple trees also )? Will the tree keep growing right up till the frost freezes the roots? If so that would be late November. Thanks in advance.

Different portions of trees growth at different times. Most of the basal (girth) growth happens fairly early in the year, commencing even before the sugaring season is over. This slows down over the summer. Shoots follow a similar pattern. There is however a lot of sugar synthesis (photosynthesis) and carbohydrate (starch) storage going on during the summer though, right up until the leaves drop.

[spud]

Thanks Doc.

Spud