Druidic architecture - what are aged trees and how to protect them?

12 of February '25

a unique landscape with a history of almost a thousand years of formation and use, the key value of which is hundreds of centuries-old oaks and beeches - Windsor Park

photo: author's archive

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A well-known axiom of the real estate trade is: location is everything. In this maxim, location encompasses factors beyond the investor's control, which he is unable to change. These include, for example, location in relation to markets and jobs, the nature of the landscape, the relief of the land, the view.

Piotr TYSZKO-CHMIELOWIEC - Arborist expert, lecturer, author of textbooks, in 2015 co-founder and first director of the Tree Institute (now member of the board of directors), from 2009-2021leader of the Ways for Nature program at the EcoDevelopment Foundation, graduate of the Forestry Departments of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, specialist in the care of aged and veteran trees (VETCert).

Does this regularity extend to trees? Can trees be cut down and replanted at the whim of the developer? After all, buildings, including historic ones, are reconstructed, relocated, copied.

Surely?

With adequate funding, Windsor Castle could be copied (the comparably sized Chambord Castle already has a copy overseas). But can we copy multi-hundred-year-old oak trees? What amount of money would be needed to put up, say, a single Bartek-type tree on a plot of land, or an avenue of two-hundred-year-old plane trees? Even if such efforts are made (see the garden of Georgian politician Bidzina Ivanishvili), the success of transplanting an aged tree and transporting it over longer distances is uncertain, and the effect is unreliable.

An avenue of aged lime trees leading to the palace in Rzucewo near Puck; according to legend, planted by King Jan Sobieski

what is a senile tree?

To explain the concept of a senile tree, it is necessary to present it in the context of life phases. A young tree grows vigorously upward, and its architecture is marked by a strong apical dominance - a hormonally determined hierarchy controlled by the bud of the main guide. At the mature tree stage, this dominance weakens and gradually disappears after reaching maturity. The mature tree reaches its maximum crown size, the top of which flattens due to the transformation of the hierarchical arrangement of branches into a polyarchical one. At the late mature stage, an internal sprouting of the trunk usually begins to form, going from the roots upward.

Diagram of tree development from sprouting to the senescent stage - drawing by Jakub Jozefchuk based on illustrations by Neville Fay, inspired by the work of Lonsdale and Raimbault

For most old trees, after the maturity stage, the dying process begins: individual branches wither, usually starting from the top of the crown. Of course, the death of a tree can occur at any point in its life, caused either by a disease factor or changes in the environment (for example, damage to the roots by excavation). But there are such unique individuals that are able to become older than old, thanks to a confluence of genetic predisposition and favorable circumstances. In this process, phenomena specific to the senile stage are revealed:

the dying of primary branches is offset by the growth of secondary shoots, called reiterates, often lower in the crown - they form the secondary crown;
the progression of sprouting of the interior of the trunk
the activity of fungi, insects and other organisms releases biogenes trapped in the central, already tree-unnecessary part of the trunk;
roots develop in the chimney hollow, allowing the released biogenes to be used in the further growth of the tree;
it is not uncommon for the trunk to divide into functional columns connecting a section of the crown with a section of the root system;
most often, aged trees bear traces of past traumas - lightning strikes, hurricane winds.

During the senile phase, the colony (modular) nature of the tree is fully revealed, allowing such an organism to be partially dead while continuing to grow. The senile phase can lead to successive cycles of renewal of the tree, its second life may be followed by a third and subsequent life. A broader concept than senile trees are veteran trees - they can be trees with senile characteristics, but not necessarily that age.

Tassilolinde - a linden tree that grew as early as 1,300 years ago, so it is probably about 1,400 years old - the same and brand new, since the current one was formed from offshoots created after the original trunk died; or perhaps the tree has experienced several such cycles of rebirth since Tassilo's knight spent the night under the linden?

how much are aged trees worth?

The methods developed to date for estimating the value of trees capitulate in the face of aged trees. For how, for example, to use the method of restoration value against a being that cannot be restored? After all, senile trees are an irreproducible resource on the scale of human life, actually on the scale of many generations. The benefits they bring are, for the most part, difficult to estimate, because how to value prestige? And how to the beauty of a monumental form shaped by centuries of growth and struggle against adversity?

Tassilolinde - a linden tree that grew as early as 1,300 years ago, so it is probably about 1,400 years old - the same and brand new, for the current one was formed from offshoots created after the original trunk died; or perhaps the tree has experienced several such cycles of rebirth since Tassilo's knight spent the night under the linden?

how to take care of exceptional trees?

First of all, do no harm - old and aged trees are very sensitive to environmental changes and have difficulty adapting to them. When carrying out construction work or landscaping, it is necessary to designate a tree protection zone with a wider radius than the standard one (for example, the range of the crown projection plus 3 meters) and strictly adhere to the prohibition of vehicle traffic and earthworks in the area (including, in particular, excavation and overburdening of soil). The key to preserving such trees is proper design that takes into account the needs of the trees, treating them as sensitive, living creatures and not, as is often the case, as unnecessary stucco. It is unacceptable not only to interfere with the ground, but also to alter water relations, including by establishing watered lawns or draining the area.

For work on aged trees, we employ highly qualified arborists, preferably those with international VETCert certification - specialists in the care of veteran and aged trees. Such work must be carried out on the basis of a multi-year care plan, formulated with the assumption that the priority is to preserve the integrity and condition of such a tree.