Re: Confirmed: Eldorado ponderosa largest by volume

[M.W.Taylor]

Bob Van Pelt has just measured the "Ruby Tree", the new AFA co-champion ponderosa in Eldorado National Forest, Sierra Nevada Range. Site altitude 5,300 feet.

His volume estimate is an astounding 5,398 cubic feet !    

This would make the Eldorado National Forest ponderosa larger than even some of the biggest recorded sugar pines like Yosemite Giant which as 9.2' dbh, 269' tall and 5,390 cubic feet of trunk volume.

Bob says he was blown away by this tree. He has seen no other ponderosa with such a gigantic lower trunk.

No other ponderosa he has seen measures up to this one...except maybe the old AFA champion in Shasta-Trinity National Forest which grows in the Klamath intermediate ranges with different climate and soils.  Site altitude at the champion Trinity ponderosa is about 4,400ft. I recently calculated the volume of the giant Trinity ponderosa at 5,240 cubic feet, a close rival to the Eldorado tree. I am curious what Bob Van Pelt gets for the Trinity giant ponderosa. Will keep the forum updated if he gets around to measuring it.

Bob's relaskop and lower trunk tape wrap diameters are as follows:

Height       Diameter
 0             9.06
2.62          8.63
4.59          8.37
8.20          8.07
16.40        7.87
32.81        7.51
49.21        7.021
65.62        6.63
82.02        6.20
98.43        5.77
114.83       5.28
131.23       4.79
164.04       3.77
196.85       2.33
213.25       1.21
231.30        0

Total Volume 5,398 cubic feet

Over 8' thick at 8' above ground and over 7' thick at 50' above the ground. Arguably, another 4ft could be added to the height interval figures because these were taken at the top of the 4ft debris pile that surrounds the tree.

This giant ponderosa pine is a real spanker !

Michael Taylor

[Will Blozan]

Michael,

Damn dude! Impressive tree; I'm glad BVP was able to see it and get some solid numbers.

A bit of Pinus envy here.

Congrats!

Will

[Joe]

Beautiful! I love Ponderosa forests. I'll never forget hiking in the Kaibab forest south of the Grand Canyon back in '94 in the spring. The pines gave off a wonderfully sweet smell- and the weather was perfect and beautiful blue skies.
Joe

[dbhguru]

Michael,

    I join Will in expressing my envy. However, seeing these giant trees and learning about their volumes spurs me on to really plan some serious tree modeling here in new England. At the end of the week Monica and I will go to New Hampshire for a gathering of her fellow musicians at Squam Lake. The group wants a tree walk and guess who is nominated to lead that. I think there are some nice white pines around the shores of the lake.

    Monica and I will also use the opportunity to sneak off and measure and model the huge Tamworth Pine in Hemmenway State Forest. It will be a major effort to get diameter aloft because of the branching pattern of the pine. The objective is to determine if the Tamworth Pine exceeds 1,000 cubes. I think it will, but only by a little. By comparison, I read of the 5,000-cuber ponderosas and sugars in your neck of the woods and begin salivating. However, everything is relative. You wouldn't believe the seedy little trees that excite the timber community here in New England. A northern red oak with 250 cubes of trunk volume is usually considered due for cutting, if not already over-mature.

Bob

[Larry Tucei]

Michael- Amazing!  How old are some of these giant Ponderosa's and was the Forest filled with thousands of trees such as these before the 1850's?  Larry

[M.W.Taylor]

Larry,

The new champion ponderosa is not super old. It has no large branches. Bob Van Pelt estimated the tree to be about 350 years old.

Michael Taylor

WNTS VP
www.landmarktrees.net
American Forests Big Trees Coordinator