Portland Paradox Walnut Update (major bummer alert)

treewill said:
I agree.

Just to reiterate, mechanical damage from construction on this site must have been very minimal. <25% of the root zone and starting >50ft from the trunk. There's no way that explains the massive trunk cankering we're seeing. No way.
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How far do the farthest limbs spread away from the trunk? Sorry for the Columbo esqe pace of my deductions. Either way at this point i will keep the faith in the tree and it may look terrible on the bole and prove that the crown can sustain and keep the balance favorable for the tree. I rather enjoy veteran trees that have all the signs they should come down but just wont die and we leave them to their ways. I agree the dead limb should've stayed.
 
Jeff_Cochran said:
Tell them to compare the new soil sample with the original samples from the construction planning to see if there are any marked differences. Fwiw, my lab doesn't have to be told what to look for I just send them samples and they tell me the problem


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Is that a secret lab!? ;)
 
To me those look like Oyster Mushrooms. Hard to say but that would be a sign of internal decay. There is a chance the decay was present in 2015 but the bark hadn’t sloughed yet. That could explain the healthy looking crown. Sonic tomography could be an option. I suspect the tree has been battling internal decay for awhile based on its size and proximity to an urban environment. I wish I could see it in person.
 
Seeing this really doesn’t surprise me considering the age of the tree, the impact of climate change and thousand cankers on walnut in our area, and the impacts (however minimal) that occured on this site. Another huge walnut that Kevin has been caring for near this site (I’ve pruned it twice) has similar issues at the base.

Also, nefarious deeds are not always done by tree owners and or developers but are sometimes done by others who seemingly have no stake in whether a tree lives or dies. Personally, if it were found to be poisoning, I would look upslope to see who’s view was blocked or gains the most view by the loss.

Sad to see another big one biting the dust in Portland. It seems that big old trees are having a tough go of staying standing in that city.
 
LandonPainter said:
To me those look like Oyster Mushrooms. Hard to say but that would be a sign of internal decay. There is a chance the decay was present in 2015 but the bark hadn’t sloughed yet. That could explain the healthy looking crown. Sonic tomography could be an option. I suspect the tree has been battling internal decay for awhile based on its size and proximity to an urban environment. I wish I could see it in person.
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Yup, it is Oyster mushroom. But in my experience (and wikipedia agrees lol) this is a saprophyte which decomposes dead sapwood, as opposed to the very well defended heartwood. These are very different niches, and according to what I can find online, Oyster mushroom is not known to attack heartwood or living sapwood.

I think the Oyster mushrooms (as well as many other boring insects present) are a symptom and not the cause of the cankering.
 
RyanCafferky said:
Seeing this really doesn’t surprise me considering the age of the tree, the impact of climate change and thousand cankers on walnut in our area, and the impacts (however minimal) that occured on this site. Another huge walnut that Kevin has been caring for near this site (I’ve pruned it twice) has similar issues at the base.

Also, nefarious deeds are not always done by tree owners and or developers but are sometimes done by others who seemingly have no stake in whether a tree lives or dies. Personally, if it were found to be poisoning, I would look upslope to see who’s view was blocked or gains the most view by the loss.

Sad to see another big one biting the dust in Portland. It seems that big old trees are having a tough go of staying standing in that city.
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Yeah I hear you. I'm not usually surprised to see an old tree struggling in an urban environment, especially around a construction site.

What is shocking to me is to see a long-lived tree with a ton of stored energy for defense be killed so quickly. Not many things I can think of that can kill such a tree in a few years.

Herbicide is one thing. Phytophthora is another. I would like to see it tested for these things.

I worry that if we don't establish the cause of death with this tree, it will make it that much harder to advocate for preservation of similar trees in the future.
 
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