tall tree grove, CV

[sradivoy]

I went to verify that tall black cherry today from several different positions. I measured three different leaders so not all heights are of the same top. I got a 145' upslope , a 149' mid-slope different leader. another 149' from across the creek up the hill , a 147', a 150', and a 145'. More work needs to be done . no sense averaging different sprigs. Next time I'll bring a tripod and accurately mark off the midslope with a ribbon. Btw I measured the circumference but didn't write it down and can no longer remember it. It's a skinny tree anyway. This tree reminds me of the Everett sycamore in that both are isolated specimens that occupy a superior location at or near the bottom of the creek while the surrounding tall tulips are more upslope. In such a scenario other species such as these can compete with the naturally endowed tall tulips.

[Erik Danielsen]

What a special tree! I really appreciate seeing what the Lake Erie influence produces in Ohio. When I'm back out in WNY in the future it'd be great to meet up and see some of this. With a new laptop arriving today I'm aiming to finally delve into LIDAR data for NY- I'm hoping we can finally give northern ohio a run for its money!

[sradivoy]

Any time Eric. I would be happy to cross paths with you in a park. I'm interested in the Lake Erie watershed as well and will always be a part of it. I think you'll have a big kick with Lidar. I never would have found this grove without it. The old lidar data for this particular tree I think is around 145 (based just on the color code alone) at the bottom of a slope so it doesn't overhang anything significant even though it has a slight lean to it. Sycamores on a flood plain are particularly suitable for lidar in conjunction with Bing birdseye for species id and short large thick stemmed trees. The white tree is difficult to mistake for something else.

[Erik Danielsen]

Agreed! I actually used that imagery to locate some tall Sycamores at another site in the lake erie watershed last month- still working on getting the report up. Unfortunately Bing birdseye gets very distorted by the terrain on a lot of the sites that are interesting but for when it works, it's really useful.

[dbhguru]

Stefan, Erik,

You all are really identifying the effect of Lake Erie on tree heights. So far as I am aware, this is new information. In the past, we had Zoar Valley and thought it unique. Maybe not so much so. This will be great information as we develop our partnership with VA Tech.

Bob

[sradivoy]

It's looking more and more likely that the tall black cherry is a 150 class tree. I took 15 laser hits, two at 148, one at 149, six at 150, four at 151, and two as high as 152. All where rounded to the lowest foot. After adding them all up and dividing by fifteen I got and average of 150.2'. If confirmed it would be a state record and be the sixth species in Ohio to be 150' and above. I also measured another tall tulip at 153' a stone's throw away from the cherry from two different positions. Unfortunately I measured a bunch of young tulips not realizing that my calculator wasn't in degree mode. Ticked off by the ticks! Found three on me. Big tree hunting is becoming a winter sport.

[sradivoy]

I think using the max hit of 152' instead of the ave. hit of 150.2' is more appropriate on this particular tree as opposed to the discussion I had on a different tree from a different post. This tree has four tops at 151.98, 150.57, 151.62, 152.6 that I measured from a single position before wrapping the base of the tree in order to determine the top leader. After tape wrapping it from midslope I remeasured the tree from seven different locations. Unfortunately I lost track of the highest leader and ended up taking height measurements of multiple tops and then calculated the average height. This is a big difference than taking the average of a single top from different positions like I did in the previous discussion. Also, unlike the previous discussion where I got one max hit here I got three reaffirming max hits (151.98 and 152.62 before tape wrap) and a 152.27 after tape wrap. I'm now willing to stand by an adjusted 152' tall black cherry instead of the average height of 150'.

[dbhguru]

Stefan,

Excellent explanation. Loved the image with the arrows. Hell'uva a black cherry.

Do you want some of your measurements entered into our Superlative Native Trees Database?

Bob

[sradivoy]

Certainly Bob! Btw, It has a 6'11.5"cbh at midlslope. Also, I corrected a previous post. This is the sixth species and not the fifth species at 150 and above in Ohio. I forgot about the 150 plus bitternut.

[dbhguru]

Stefan,

I was looking a some of your other posts and think the trees in the attachment should be added to the database. If you agree, can you review the entries and make corrections as necessary. Feel free to add more trees.

Bob