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Ok thanks for the reply, i was wondering this because as a forestry major at UK whenever I climb there it just crosses my mind.

Josephine wrote:

toad857 wrote:For more info on identifying old trees without coring them, here is a good article by Neil Pederson (former EKU faculty):

http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/03/18 ... look-like/

neat article! I am always fooled that size = age. I'll have to look harder next time!

When you can read the crown of a tree, it's like time travel! Look for big breaks that may have occurred 100 years ago. Trees with little to no branches down low usually indicate that they grew up in an understory, whereas all of those big, impressive oaks in the bluegrass that look like giant shrubs have been in the open for a long time. Also remember that species like Tulip poplar, cottonwood, and sycamore grow very quickly, especially with ample water--A 6' diameter cottonwood is not all that special (just take a jaunt over to the Ohio River). Oaks, cherries, hickories are slower growing (and more valuable). Beech trees and hemlocks are often big in areas like PMRP/Muir, but are basically only good for pulp when we have so much hardwood.

Trees are cool. I wish more climbers would spend the time to learn about them, considering how much time we all spend at the Red. It will be really exciting to walk around Muir in 30 or 40 years--those stands are going to be really impressive.