TREES OF TREHERBERT

Our walks in the woodlands of Treherbert allowed us to discover and explore the various species of trees in the landscape. On our walk with Chris, we learned how to differentiate between native woodlands and a plantation. A native woodland is sometimes self-seeded, contains broadleaf trees of variousspecies and is visually quite diverse. Meanwhile, the conifer plantations are filled with non-native needled trees, They visually juxtapose the broadleaf trees; are much darker and look similar to one another.

Broadleafs and conifers are easily distinguished by their leaves. Broadleafs have flat leaves which usually shed in the winter, and conifers have needle-shaped leaves. They are cone-bearing and are evergreen meaning that they don’t shed their leaves in the winter. It was noticable in Treherbert’s plantation area that the conifer trees didn’t have enough space to grow their branches outward due to them planted close to one another.

The Conifers

FIR

Pacific Fir (60m) Douglas Fir (55m) Noble Fir (45m) Douglas Fir is native to western North America and used for softwood timber construction.

Pacific Fir is native to northwestern North America. It’s used as a softwood and as an ornamental tree. The tree has an attractive smell so sometimes it’s used for christmas decorations as well as paper making.

Noble Fir is native to northwest California, Oregon, and Washington. It’s also used as a christmas tree and for paper making.

Conifer

Broadleaf 1m

6m Fir Needles

WESTERN HEMLOCK

Western Hemlock is native to northwest America. It’s known to travel to Britain in 1852. The wood’s usage is mainly for construction, roofing, box-making and paper making. It’s known to hold nails very well. Very few species can live in the trees as its very dark. The tree produces an important herb for women according to Native Americans. 9m

2.7m Hemlock Needles

PINE

Scots Pine (35m) Macedonian Pine (35-40m) Lodgepole Pine (40-50m) Pine Needles

12m

1.7m

LARCH

Japanese Larch (30m) Hybrid Larch (40m)

7.6m Larch Needles

1.3m 40m Scots Pine is native to western Europe, eastern Siberia and the Caucasus Mountains. They’re always placed closer to the forest limits. Its use is mainly as a christmas tree and for hardwood construction.

Macedonian Pine is native to Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania. The wood is durable and highly valuable in construction; especially for furniture and carvings.

Lodgepole Pine is native to western North America. It requires wildfires to maintain a healthy population of diverse ages. The heat opens its cones and releases more seeds allowing for regeneration.

Corsican Pine is native to south Mediterranean Europe. It’s softer and not as strong for hardwood use because it grows quite fast. The use for the wood revolved around fuel, paper making, and general construction needs.

30m

Japanese Larch grows in deep, well-drained soil. It’s an important tree for forestry plantations as the wood is tough and durable. Smaller Japanese larch trees are used for fencing while bigger ones, for construction. It’s also an ornamental tree. In 2009, sudden oak death disease found in Japanese larch trees meant most of them being infected as the genetic code of the different types of larch trees is quite similar. At the moment, UK Larch trees are still infected.

Hybrid Larch exists due to an accidental cross-pollination of Japanese and European larch. It survives under poor conditions which meants its good for timber production. It changes color every season which allows forests to balance plantations with visitor friendliness.

SITKA SPRUCE

Sitka Spruce is native to the west coast of North America and is named after Sitka, Alaska. An introduction to the UK in 1831 leads to it being a popular tree since. The tree drives out endangered wildlife which isn’t ideal however the wood is light, soft, strong and flexible, and has excellent acoustic properties. The uses include construction, ship building, and plywood. 6m

1.5m Spruce Needles

40m

BEECH

Rauli Beech (50m) Beech (40m)

Beech is an unusual tree to be found in the UK although its native to the southeast of England. Sometimes, it has an unusual bark. The beech trees provide food and shelter to a lot of species such as butterflies, fungi, mosses, lichens and seeds which feed voles, mice, squirrels and birds.

Rauli Beech is a deciduous tree which grows in Chile and Argentina and is able to tolerate low temperatures and heavy winds. The bark is gray and the wood is fit for furniture making, wine barrels, doors, veneers, shingles and flooring. It’s an ornamental tree in the UK and grows well in western Scotland because it gets the necessary rainfall there.

12m

2m Beech Leaves

40m

SESSILE OAK

Sessile Oak is the national tree of Ireland and native to most of Europe’s hilly areas. It supports wildlife more than any other native trees; up to 257 species of insects which are food sources for birds and other predators in the surrounding areas. The timber is very durable howeer it takes 150 years before an oak tree is ready to use in construction. The uses include flooring, wine barrels and firewood. The leaves, bark, acorns were believed to heal many medical ailments such as inflammation and kidney stones. The acorns are used to make break flour and tannin collected from the bark is used to tan leather. Sessile Oak Leaves 4m

20m 1m

MOUNTAIN ASH

Mountain Ash is native to the cool areas in the northern hemisphere. They’re small ornamental trees with dense wood which is used for carving, tool handles and walking sticks. It is a strong, stable timber which produces durable wood flooring. In Finland, it’s the traditional wood used for horse seld shafts. The tree atrracts fruit-eating birds and makes for good firewood. It’s also called the traveler’s tree because it prevents people from getting lost in the woods. Fun Fact: the tree was known to scare witches in the Victorian era. It’s still known to be the portal tree in the druidism religious movement; a threshold between this world and the other world. 4.5m

0.8m

Ash Leaves

ADLER

Italian Adler (25m) Red Adler (20-30m) Italian Adler is native to the southern Apennine mountains and the northeastern mountains of Corsica. It improves soil fertility through symbiotic nitrogen fixation and thrives in drier soils. It grows well even in unfavorable conditions thus it’s valuable for landscape planning for a difficult site such as mining spoil heaps which makes sense why it is found in valley towns such as Treherbert. Its uses are plywood, furniture panelling and town decoration. Red Adler is native to western North America. The tallest red adler stands thirty-two meters in Oregon. The bark is ashy-gray, smooth, and Native Americans are known to use a dye extracted from it to dye fishing nets so they are less visible underwater, as well as treate poison oak, insect bites and skin irritations. The tree is able to fix nitrogen in the soil and its self-fertilizing trait allows for rapid growth. It doesn’t thrive in heavy, wet clay soils. Alder timber isn’t durable for outdoor usage but does well for furniture as its softer than other hard woods. It’s become popular only becasue it is a cheaper option than other hardwoods. 5m Adler Leaves

0.8m

25m

GUM

Shining Gum (70-90m) Cider Gum (35m) Cider Gum is native to Tasmania, and is one of the few evergreen broadleaf trees. It has a smooth bark and white flower buds in groups of three. It grows in woodlands, on slopes, and mountains 1100m above sea level. For a eucalyptus tree, it tolerates very cold climates. It’s a fast growing ornamental tree (1.5m/ year). The leaves are used for essential oils. Shining Gum is native to Victoria and eastern New South Wales, Australia. It grows in wet forests and on fertile soil. It has a smooth white, gray or yellow bark with rough and flaky grayish bark near the base. The timber is used for general construction, and furniture. It’t not suited for dry, poor or alkaline soils. Climate change is predicted to increase the range of sitea suitable for this species. Gum Leaves 7.6m

1.3m

35m

BIRCH

Downy Birch (30m) Silver Birch (15-25m) Downy Birch is found throughout Europe and grows on damp soil, high elevations and provides food and shelter for more than 300 insect species. It produces tough and heavy wood used for furnity, handles, toys and the bark is used to tan leather. Herbal medicine is made from the tree and people use the sap in drinks. 6m

0.4m Birch Leaves

25m Silver Birch is an ornamental tree which is also used for joinery timber, firewood, tanning, racecourse jumps and brooms. It provides perfect conditions for grass, moss and violets to grow. The birch symbolises renewal and purification in Celtic culture.

Woodlands vs Plantations By Tanya Khanna

References: Alder, A., 2021. Alnus cordata - Italian Alder. [online] Britishhardwood.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.britishhardwood.co.uk/alnus-cordata-italian-alder> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. American Conifer Society. 2021. Pinus peuce / Macedonian pine | Conifer Species | American Conifer Society. [online] Available at: <https://conifersociety.orgconifers/pinus-peuce/> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Arborday.org. 2021. Scots Pine Tree on the Tree Guide at arborday.org. [online] Available at: <https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeGuide/TreeDetail. cfm?ItemID=902> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Conifer and Broadleaf Leaf Illustrations by Tanya Khanna Conifers.org. 2021. Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir) description. [online] Available at: <https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pseudotsuga_menziesii.php> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. EU Science Hub - European Commission. 2021. Sessile Oak - EU Science Hub - European Commission. [online] Available at: <https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/ research-topic/forestry/qr-tree-project/sessile-oak> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/media/atlas/Larix_decidua.pdf> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Forestry and Land Scotland. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://forestryandland.gov.scot/learn/trees> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Forest Research. 2021. Shining gum - Forest Research. [online] Available at: <https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/tree-species-database/shining-gum/> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Nwconifers.com. 2021. Pacific Silver Fir. [online] Available at: <http://nwconifers.com/nwhi/silverfir.htm> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Tree Nursery UK. 2021. Red Alder tree (alnus rubra) - Tree Nursery UK Fast Uk Delivery. [online] Available at: <https://www.tree-shop.co.uk/product/ red-alder-tree-alnus-rubra-2/> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Trust, W., 2021. [online] Woodland Trust. Available at: <https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees> [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Windbreak Trees. 2021. Tree Information and Pictures [online] Available at: <https://www.windbreaktrees.com/ > [Accessed 19 November 2021]. Woodlands.co.uk. 2021. Corsican Pine or Black Pine.. [online] Available at: <https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/tree-identification/corsican-pine-orblack-pine/> [Accessed 19 November 2021].

Talking Trees:

Showing the interdependance of trees

Process of Interdependance in trees Top view of dense vegetation Identifying the mother and young trees Mother trees creating a micorrhizal network between trees

Interdependence of trees

There is another world underground, a world of infinite biological pathways that connect trees and allows them to communicate. The forest can be considered as a single organism within which there are trees interdependant on each other.

The trees create a fungal network with each other called the micorrhizal network. The dark green nodes in the figures are considered to be the mother trees which nuture the younger ones. These mother trees acts as pathways for the transport of nutrients, water and carbon. They also increase the resilience of the community by sending defense signals. The final image shows how the forests look without the mother tree. The removal of mother trees disrupts the balance of the forest and the growth of trees. The mother trees are tall and recieve good amount of sunlight to produce sufficient amount of glucose sugar through photosynthesis. The fungi which lacks in sugar, absorbs the nutrients from the soil. The trees share the glucose with the fungi which in return gives back the nutrients from the soil. The mother tree shares the nutrients with the young plants in order to nurture them. It is visible in the figure 3 how this interconnection works. The micorrhizal network helps in the faster growth of plants and trees and is clearly visible how trees communicate with each other. A similar kind of network is seen in the woodlands of Treherbert. All the trees are interconnected with each other through the roots. Trees like firs, pines, Western Hemlock becomes mature at the age of 40-50, after which they try to nurture their younger ones and provide them with nutrients, carbon. Moreover, they send more carbon to the trees which are geneticaly related. This is the reason why some of the trees are found in clusters.

Connection between trees