Trees, forests, and forestry

[VetusLignum]

I am creating this thread so that we can share knowledge and ideas about forestry.

[Ahmed]

Forests and forestry are not the same thing and we must be very clear: the former do not depend on the latter, but the converse is not true.
The major concern at present is the adaptation of forests to climate change; here too, we must be clear: forests always adapt (in the extreme, disappearance remains a form of adaptation ... ), but these processes only operate "smoothly" if the delay is slow enough. As this is not the case, silvicultural interventions are therefore required, less to "save" the forest than to limit the inconveniences that its regression would entail, in particular on the climate (since it constitutes a positive feedback loop), but also economic.
A group of suitable specialists are therefore working on the question and, unfortunately, are faced with the same problem as their subject: their thoughts are not in time phase with the speed of the mutation. In their defense, the difficulty of finding a way to remedy this situation should be recognized. The first way that comes to mind would be to imitate what is seen in animal species: a gradual migration to the north would be possible, these are things that we know how to do, except that in the specific case that concerns us , Mediterranean species do not support the spring frosts of more northern regions ... In short, it is the dead end and the summer of 2003, as a full-scale experience had already cooled a lot of hopes, as for example the one placed in the locust tree: the latter having derailed well during this period. Aside from the sessile oak which is quite resistant, everything else looks pale ...
As I have already mentioned elsewhere, I believe, I have several American black walnut trees that are dead or badly affected by the heat (not the drought) of the summer of 2020: they could not stand.

[GuyGadeboisTheBack]

Strange for walnut trees to die of drought ...

[Ahmed]

Strange for drowned people to die of drought ...

This is what we should have written in order not to drop anyone ...
This is why I make it clear that it is a heat stroke, the walnut trees being endowed with a deep rooting which protects them from a lack of water. However, if the heat is too strong, the ability to carry water to the top of the branches is no longer sufficient, despite a good potential water supply.

[GuyGadeboisTheBack]

Strange for drowned people to die of drought ...

This is what we should have written in order not to drop anyone ...

We can't chew everything, eh!

[Ahmed]

Yes, because some here have bad teeth between their ears ...

[GuyGadeboisTheBack]

Yes, because some here have bad teeth between their ears ...

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[VetusLignum]

Mediterranean species cannot withstand spring frosts in more northern regions ...

They are not all to be put at the same level.
One way is to plant Mediterranean species, or species from other continents.
Another avenue is to plant provenances of the same species, but from the south.
The most important thing in my opinion is mixing, and the worst mistake being monoculture.

In short, it is a dead end and the summer of 2003, as a full-scale experience, had already cooled a lot of hopes, such as for example the one placed in the locust tree: the latter having derailed well during this period. Apart from the sessile oak which resists quite a bit, everything else looks pale ...

Theoretically, black locust is resistant to droughts; better than sessile oak, which is also surpassed by pubescent oak.

As I have already mentioned elsewhere, I believe, I have several American black walnut trees that are dead or badly affected by the heat (not the drought) of the summer of 2020: they could not stand.

It is very surprising. Black walnut trees come from areas of North America where it can be very hot, and are believed to be fire resistant. But on the other hand, they fear the lack of water.

[Ahmed]

We are of the same opinion with regard to the mixture of essences, but that complicates the problem all the more since it would be necessary to be able to have an assortment of species and that all this will necessarily take time: it is only 'with a certain hindsight that one can validly judge the evolution.
Theoretically, black locust is resistant to drought, but observations made after the 2003 season show that in practice this is not really the case ...
Concerning the American walnut trees (in reality hybrids between juglans regia and juglans nigra), it is a hypothesis on my part, but the observation is there: these trees of good size are necrotic on the periphery (the living part, as you know ) and the bark has come off the trunk.

[VetusLignum]

Theoretically, black locust is resistant to drought, but observations made after the 2003 season show that in practice this is not really the case ...
Concerning the American walnut trees (in reality hybrids between juglans regia and juglans nigra), it is a hypothesis on my part, but the observation is there: these trees of good size are necrotic on the periphery (the living part, as you know ) and the bark has come off the trunk.

Below are sheets on the 2 species in question.

In general, what makes a tree resistant to drought is above all a root system capable of fetching water in depth.
This may not work well for a tree that is too recently planted.

https://hautsdefrance.cnpf.fr/data/4334 ... rs_1_1.pdf
https://hautsdefrance.cnpf.fr/data/4334 ... er_1_1.pdf