Originally posted by Guy Meilleur
Dead branches on trees are channels for decay even more than a collar cut.
I tend to think of branches like a box of straws, the vascular bundles of the limb allow free movement lengthwise, much like a box of straws would allow water to flow end to end.
On an intact limb, those straws are all closed at both ends. Once you make a cut, they are all open.
Fungi can move quickly down those straws. We work on DED trees and get to do some bark tracing. The staining can move 6 feet or more in a day.
I've also worked in trees where when I cut a limb, I could hear a faint little whisle, because the saw broke the tension and fluids were pulled back by gravity.
The longer the tree has to set up barriers, the better. I feel leaving the branch
reduces the chances of introducing wood decay fungi into the trunk, past protection zones.
Originally posted by Guy Meilleur
Yes dying branches are sending resources back to the rest of the tree...
I'm glad to see this in print. Are you comming around to my side or what?