6 of the oldest trees from around the world.

Originally posted by daryllyn
[color=dodgerblue]I find it sad that there is a need to protect the trees from vandals. I have never understood vandalism and have never gotten why people feel the need to do it.

There is a such a lack of respect in the world these days. Does that statement make me sound old? Oh well (:

S&F

It is very sad that some people would want to vandalize anything natural let alone one of the world’s oldest trees.

But vandalism in the form of street art and graffiti is an adaption to ones environment; it is a product of this modern society we live in. It is used to express emotion and to break free from the chains society puts people in. When it comes to vandalizing trees like this tho, respect is definitely needed.

I don’t think it makes you sound old, respecting the environment is an all ages thing but you shouldn’t be critical of all vandalism.


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Originally posted by FugitiveSoul

Originally posted by Realm52

I love the way the bark spirals its way to the top. If you look at the limbs, they mimic this swirling.

That is the Fibonacci sequence for you, the spiral is everywhere in the universe!

Awesome thread. There is something intriguing about nature, trees especially. They hold knowledge that would blow our minds.

Originally posted by TheCommentator

Originally posted by daryllyn
[color=dodgerblue]I find it sad that there is a need to protect the trees from vandals. I have never understood vandalism and have never gotten why people feel the need to do it.

There is a such a lack of respect in the world these days. Does that statement make me sound old? Oh well (:

S&F

It is very sad that some people would want to vandalize anything natural let alone one of the world’s oldest trees.

But vandalism in the form of street art and graffiti is an adaption to ones environment; it is a product of this modern society we live in. It is used to express emotion and to break free from the chains society puts people in. When it comes to vandalizing trees like this tho, respect is definitely needed.

I don’t think it makes you sound old, respecting the environment is an all ages thing but you shouldn’t be critical of all vandalism.


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Originally posted by FugitiveSoul

Originally posted by Realm52

I love the way the bark spirals its way to the top. If you look at the limbs, they mimic this swirling.

That is the Fibonacci sequence for you, the spiral is everywhere in the universe!

edit on 2-2-2012 by TheCommentator because: (no reason given)

I can and will be critical of all "vandalism" Why should one person be allowed to vandalize another's work...ever?

vandalism is the refusal to accept the work of those who have came before. Let me guess you are the type that tore the arms from David...for the sake of your art?

Absolutely unacceptable reasoning for the destruction of a persons art.

how do they know that first tree is 9550? carbon dating? im just curious, i know a lot of tree's to the counting rings thing which is why i ask. (that one would have to have microscopic rings)

reply to post by mileysubet

I can and will be critical of all "vandalism" Why should one person be allowed to vandalize another's work...ever? vandalism is the refusal to accept the work of those who have came before. Let me guess you are the type that tore the arms from David...for the sake of your art? Absolutely unacceptable reasoning for the destruction of a persons art.

I don’t really know what type of vandalism you are talking about??

I never said it’s ok to vandalize another persons art; I also don’t like people vandalizing private houses and small business.

reply to post by daryllyn


with regards to the OP , awesome trees I love how a tree can live for so long in such a harsh environment!
it truly a testament to nature !

With regards to vandalism , well humans really feel the need to make their mark wherever and whenever ,
it's is to say"I am here I exist" !

humans have been vandalising caves since the early days nothing new here , however I dont really agree with humans vandalising a living thing . Bricks and mortar , cave walls yes !

I visited one of the oldest trees here in southern Africa a few years back. A Baobab tree which is dated to over 2000 years old. Here is a picture I took...



What amazing organisms they are. To imagine how much these trees have seen

there are 1500 year old Kauri trees in New Zealand, they are truly stunning to see. 10 meters from the end of my driveway is a 500-600 year old Matai tree that I love to go and sit at the base of, it has weathered flood - storms - earthquakes and man and it seems to be as healthy now as when it was a sapling. a very calm place, helps remind me that nature is boss really

Is their any older living thing on the Earth other than these trees.
That Carlos Castaneda said the trees could talk, but they are on a different vibration level than us, so it's not easy to hear what they have to say.

Originally posted by Alaskan Man
how do they know that first tree is 9550? carbon dating? im just curious, i know a lot of tree's to the counting rings thing which is why i ask. (that one would have to have microscopic rings)

The 9000 year old tree is a clonal tree, meaning that its root system keeps making clones of the original tree as it spreads out. The tree in the pic may not be that old but, its root system is. As for how they determine the age of one of them, I found this article.

Longevity of clonal plants: why it matters and how to measure it

Scope Here, we critically review the present knowledge on the longevity of clonal plants and discuss its importance for population persistence. Direct life-span measurements such as growth-ring analysis in woody plants are relatively easy to take, although, for many clonal plants, these methods are not adequate due to the variable growth pattern of ramets and difficult genet identification. Recently, indirect methods have been introduced in which genet size and annual shoot increments are used to estimate genet age. These methods, often based on molecular techniques, allow the investigation of genet size and age structure of whole populations, a crucial issue for understanding their viability and persistence. However, indirect estimates of clonal longevity are impeded because the process of ageing in clonal plants is still poorly understood and because their size and age are not always well correlated. Alternative estimators for genet life span such as somatic mutations have recently been suggested.

Oxford Journals

As for aging other types of trees, I found this:

How to Tell the Age of a Tree Without Cutting it Down


The easiest way to tell the age of a tree is to cut it down and count the interior rings. But what do you do when you don't want to cut down the tree but want to obtain a general estimate of its age? One way is to have a professional obtain a core boring of the tree and count the annual rings. This method, however, is invasive and may damage the tree. Another method, developed by the International Society of Arboriculture, requires only some simple measurements and calculations to obtain a good estimate of a tree's age.


Estimate a Tree's Age
1
Wrap the tape measure around the tree at about four and a half feet above the ground. This measurement is the tree's circumference. Write down this measurement.

2
Use the circumference to find the diameter of the tree. The formula for finding diameter is: Diameter = circumference divided by 3.14 (pi).

3
Determine the age of the tree by multiplying the diameter by the growth factor.

E How


The age of most of the trees on the list has been estimated as it would be too intrusive to get an exact age.

As old and as beautiful trees these clearly are, could you imagine how nice of a table they wood make

9000+ year old tree, i never thought could be as old as that ever!

Great thread, loverly pics

reply to post by FortAnthem


Love the effort put into this thread, star and flag!

Wow, the tree in Wales looks simply magnificent!

As does the one in Iran, I hope nothing happens to it!

I suspect aging an old tree without cutting it down is a similar technique to what they do at the poles and take a core sample by boring in, which then gives them a sample to test.

This is a lovely post. I'm biased and love the beautiful tree in North Wales.

I absolutely love the tree in North Wales. I would love to have a picnic under it...even though there's a cemetery there. There is something very peaceful about that tree.

Awsome thanks for posting, if i had the money id travell the world to see its natural wonders those guys would be on my list.

Thanks for posting this, FortAnthem - great thread.

I was going to mention Pando, but I see someone already brought it up.

I would not be surprised to find there are many more extremely old trees (or root systems) out there that we haven't yet discovered.

I do love trees.

Not sure if these have been covered, but some one should link in the pictures because i am in a hurry. In southern utah, there exists the worlds heaviest single organism, which although debatable, is still most impressive. 'Pando' is a clonal male aspen that began to grow something like 80,000 to 1,000,000 years ago, with it's mass weighing in at something like 6,600 tonnes.

en.wikipedia.org...(tree)

Scientist have postulated that the conditions that the aspen requires to begin from seed in the rocky mountains, stopped occurring some 10,000 years ago, and 'Pando' has not flowered since then, making all aspens in the region ancients.

The oldest tree planted by a human, is a sacred fig, planted in 288BC, located in Sri Lanka and is said to be a sapling of the Bodhi Tree, which was the tree that Buddha became enlightened under.

There have been 4000 year old corrals, 260 year old koi fish, and 250 year old turtles.

en.wikipedia.org...

"Pando", is a clonal colony of a single male Quacking Aspen located in Utah. It's over 80,000 years old!

Twigs or it didnt happen.

Thats sad about "The Senator" I wonder how long trees could possibly live if they weren't harmed....indefinite?

Love this thread!

Trees are so important for so many reasons, and these ancient sentinels have seen so much of our human history come and go. They are the lungs of our planet and provide habitat for a wide variety of fauna.

Regards determining the age of a tree non-destructively, there is the technology of tomography:

A new device allows the non - destructive inspection of standing trees for cracks, cavities, and rot. It is based on the simultaneous measurement of the time of transmission of stress waves by several sensors arranged around the stem. The system was extensively tested by comparison of the tomogram with either the cross - section of the tree cut after the measurement, or with data from penetrometers or increment cores obtained in the same plane. The border of cavities is identified to the nearest cm, whereas the with of cracks in the tomogram depends on the position of the sensors around the stem. Rots are identified as soon as the wood is sufficiently deteriorated to reduce the velocity of sound. This system may become a valuable tool for hazard tree inspection, evaluation, and management.

The Angel Oak is an impressive, if not quite as venerable tree.

There is also The Goose Creek Oak which I plan on visiting this spring.

And too often we treat them as obstacles to deal with rather than the assets they are.

This thread highlights one such currently ongoing batte:

Ghirardi Oak Centurion Faces League City Demolition