Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
Not all seeds will be filled and viable. Some or all will be naturally aborted. Interestingly, of those that do make it to seed, only a very small number will actually germinate and live more than a few months. From those, only a very small number will make it to maturity. Think of the millions of seeds a tree produces, but only one needs to live a full life cycle to replace the original tree. Pretty poor odds.
Complicated questions, but yes (in a way)....a large tree does have a huge amount of carbohydrate (sugar) stored in its tissues. Even when it dies, there is a lot of sugar left. We can't get all of it out....the tree probably can't even get all of it out (for example, carbs that are trapped in "heartwood" are no longer accessible to the tree). There is much left to be learned about how trees sequester and partition carbohydrates to various functions or storage.I've heard or the way I understand it is that larger say hundred year old tree has ample reserves of carb and or sugar for utilization in following years. For example a 30" diameter tree may hold enough carbs and or sugar to produce say 10-15 gallons of syrup if there was a man made way to make water convect through the tree to release all the sugar it contains at that given time- of course there would maybe be a carb to sugar conversion issue without the tree being in a natural process- but in theory there could be say 10-15 gallons worth of sugar In that tree at any time
Dr. Tim Perkins
UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
https://mapleresearch.org
Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu
Really, wow even in the Heartwood?? So that sugar could literally be tens of years old?? I am so intrigued of the fact that some of the older trees could have quite possibly had Abraham Lincoln or George Washington walk by one of them. Hate seeing them come down by power company on some folks yard!
18x30 sugarshack
5100 taps high vac
3x10 inferno with steampan
7'' wes fab filter press
10'' cdl air filter press
D&G 3 post reverse osmosis w/recirculation
I wonder if that is why hard maple firewood seems to grow mold on the ends as it dries or mildew rather
18x30 sugarshack
5100 taps high vac
3x10 inferno with steampan
7'' wes fab filter press
10'' cdl air filter press
D&G 3 post reverse osmosis w/recirculation