The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save th

canadiantreeman

canadiantreeman

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The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet

A great book if anyone has the time, or inclination.

Here is David Milarch's Tedx Talk...

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http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Planted-Trees/dp/1400069068

The title is inspired by a short story written by Jean Giono...a great read for us tree folk.
 
I worked on a similar project a few years ago, collecting seeds from some of the oldest, genetically pure, specimens in Denmark.
Basically I was paid to go around the country, climb some of the oldest, finest trees here and pick a little bag full of seeds.
Paid really well, too.

Good times:)
 
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Dear lord where do I sign up for that!?!?

That would be my dream job, right there. Difference with these cats is that they use cuttings, and then clone the trees. Seeds can sometimes carry a 100% copy of the parent plant, depending on the varied gender of the tree, but cuttings are for sure copies.
 
What that fellow said is misleading. The most superlative gene stock in the forests does not come only from the largest trees that are in it. Most of those trees he's referring to were just lucky enough to be in a perfect niche and survive the elements to reach the size they attain. Many lesser trees in the forest that he called junk could match those trees or exceed them, but these so called junk trees are held back from achieving it by the niche habitat they're in, or they're smitten by natural forces before they could ever reach it.

Just my 2 cents. Sorry if I popped anybodies bubble.
 
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For sure, Gerry. I don't think this Milarch cat ever really got down to the forest science, he just likes to think that preserving the genes of the champions will allow us to one day understand what precisely allows them to grow so large for so long. Which is not to say that the genes in the 'junk' trees are not capable of producing the same results. I was a little bit annoyed by the junk tree statement as well.
 
I'm always a bit annoyed by these johnny come lately's who seem to think no one ever thought to do some of this sort of thing before they came along to save the world.

Natural resource management agencies have been selecting for superior growth characterisitics and planting trees by the billions for a very long time. Just one example. Private sector individuals as well, and not just for wood fiber production.
 
A large percentage of the work I did for over 32 years with the USFS was in exactly this field...so maybe I'm a little over-sensitive :).
 
Meristem culture cloning was well underway in my propagation class's in the 70's.

There's certainly a lot of good that can be said about it, but it has its issues too.
 
Hartman and Kester, Plant Propagation. 1970 I think. Top info at the time.

Much of what is in that book is current practice today. Minus GMO.

It's odd that so many people cry out that we have lost all the strong genes of our past fallen old growth redwoods. But I'm here to tell you the genes of those trees are still alive today in the second growth trees that have grown from their stumps.

The gene pool is still strong in the redwoods.
 
But the type of climate that favoured those huge monocultures of big trees may not be.

That is one thing I've been wondering about, since it came up in a discussion with the father of one of my karate students in Arcata last year.
What is your take on that , Gerry?
 
canadiantreeman said:
The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet

A great book if anyone has the time, or inclination.

Here is David Milarch's Tedx Talk...

The title is inspired by a short story written by Jean Giono...a great read for us tree folk.
Click to expand...

Archangel is headed to Port Orford, Oregon, area in December to plant some coast redwood and giant sequoia.

...
 
They will let him do that? Man if you go around planting non-native species in CA you'll get you butt in a wringer. I don't know about the rest of the state but least here on the coast they are on a campaign to eradicate non-natives. Though some historical planting are tolerated.
 
The coast redwood used to grow there supposedly. Before the climate got too cold for them... they are planting clones from some behemoth trees
 
Yeah, that's what I understand, Willie. Terri and I went to Oregon Redwoods up on the Winchuck River. A small grove on Peavine Ridge at 1400 feet elevation. Supposedly pushed down by the glaciers some time ago. But making a comeback.
 
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Today I picked up December's issue of National Geographic. Some really good reading about a 3,200 yr old tree that endures the cold very well at 7,000 ft elevation.
Very nice photography by Nick Nichols.
 
So, just to be sure I'm getting this.
Steve Sillett and company are allowed to climb Sequoias and Redwoods, and even drag journalists up into them.
But the rest of us "grunts" should stay the hell out of them.

Does that about sum it up?
 
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