Mysterious Tree Damage

[Newbiesaukee]

Maybe not so mysterious. I just noticed this damage at the base of a very large ash tree. We have had a beaver living down the road for years and never a problem..Do I have one now? This goes around almost the entire tree..can I do anything to repair or is my tree in big trouble?

Thanks.

[Kamper]

I'd go with the beaver, 2nd choice is porcupine but I think you'd see it in the branches taking a snooze.

If you get some of the black sealing goop the tree might survive but I wouldn't put too much money into it.

Good luck!

[SIKSUKR]

That almost certainly porcupine damage.https://www.google.com/search?q=porc...BFCFwQ_AUICCgB

[Merrymeeting]

Unfortunately, the tree is probably doomed. The nutrients for a tree flow in the layers not too far under the outer bark area. The center of a tree (rings) is mostly inert. So if the damage completely circles the tree, there will be no path for the water and nutrients the tree requires.

I wouldn't give up yet. It looks like the damage isn't too deep. Perhaps you'll get lucky and there are still enough layers of live tissue to recover.

PS: Painting a tree wound is one of those topics that the experts seem to disagree upon. Depending on how valuable this tree is to you, I'd suggest hiring an arborist to come look. http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/orna...g-on-trees.htm

[noreast]

Yeah, looks like porcupine. I don't think I've seen a beaver "sample". When I owned a landscaping co. over 50% off dead tree calls I got where from the owner hacking the tree with a weed wacker, all the way around. The rest were WAY over fertilizing the lawn, Usually with weed killer.

[chaseisland]

Damage to an oak done two years ago by beaver. This tree is about 90% girdled, but still alive. I've done nothing but watch it continue to sprout leaves the past two years. I do expect it to not survive in the near future, but it outlived the beaver (rip).

[donnamatrix]

In Meredith. Tim Bergquist is manager and arborist. He can tell you if you need help, or to leave it alone.

[mneck1814]

Are you near the Long Island bridge, Newbie? I was surprised to come very close to a beaver under the bridge one evening last week when I was going through in my kayak. It looks like he has built a sizable lodge along the point at the town beach, facing Trexlers. I don't think I ever remember seeing beavers in the area before?

[Newbiesaukee]

We're on the Lake just north of Harrilla's. Just north of us the Lake empties into a marshy,pond like area with a different ecosystem. Perfect for beavers and this is the direction "my" beaver swims to early in the morning. I saw it again yesterday morning. If you look on Google maps you can see this area; it is quite interesting. In May-June I have paddled a kayak back there but water level is a bit low for it now. I don't know when the beaver comes out of the area as I have only seen it swim back there in the morning.

Never had any tree damage before. I have not seen a porcupine around here...but it does not mean there isn't one.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

Never had any tree damage before. I have not seen a porcupine around here...but it does not mean there isn't one.

Porcupines are mainly nocturnal.FWIW

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

Porcupines are mainly nocturnal.FWIW

The damage was probably overnight as it is very visible and I am usually home...plus the dog is usually sensitive to outside noises. Perhaps I shouldn't have ignored the barking the other night.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

That almost certainly porcupine damage.https://www.google.com/search?q=porc...BFCFwQ_AUICCgB

I am almost certain that you are right.

From some research, this tree can be saved, but the rough edges of the damage need to be hand-chiseled. The object is to chisel out shapes that are oval or round shapes, rather than stay with the irregular damage as it is. The chisel must not touch the exposed bare wood layer.

"Saved"—that is, if Ash trees can resist its other natural assaults of recent years.

Cultural Methods

Thinned forest stands are vulnerable to porcupine damage because lower vegetation can thrive. Porcupine populations are usually lower in closed canopy stands where understory vegetation is scant
http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Porcupines.asp.

"Understory vegetation is scant" can be taken for where Eastern Hemlock predominates. Eastern Hemlock shades-out other understory growth. (Except for other Eastern Hemlock trees).

And since the White Pines have largely been "harvested" or "logged-out" here, we have a ton of Eastern Hemlock trees. The "understory vegetation" is scant and not favorable for porcupines.

In my area, porcupines reportedly disappeared in the 1960s—the cause was said to be a fatal disease. Based on the bark damages locally in the upper-reaches of established trees, they've definitely come back.

Should porcupine populations actually be increasing, porcupines may cause Fisher-Cats—their sole predator—to return.

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[barefootbay]

Bark looks like Beech .

[ApS]

Originally Posted by barefootbay

Bark looks like Beech .

I saw that too.

Here's a bunch more, with Beech first, and White Ash at the bottom-middle.

Northern Ash displays its leaves in 5-leaf bunches—I don't know about White Ash.



Newbiesaukee's photo (left), but on the same page as the above, the right photo illustrates beaver damage to a Beech tree—according to the forester.



https://www.americanforests.org/maga...guage-of-bark/

What does he know—anyway?

__________________

Just found the clincher—it's squirrel damage:

"Trees gnawed on by squirrels will usually have the ground beneath them littered with narrow, about 1/2-inch wide, strips of bark. This is usually not the case with porcupines as they consume the bark. While bark is an essential part of a porcupine’s diet, no one knows why squirrels gnaw and strip the bark off trees. They may be fulfilling some nutritional need in their diet..."
See more at: http://igrow.org/gardens/trees-and-f....rJ6sEF65.dpuf

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[Newbiesaukee]

My friend also visited my neighbor. Still not sure as the teeth marks look like porcupine photos from internet but I still like beaver.

[ApS]

Your original photo doesn't have anything alongside for comparison of bite-sizes. But it does have what appears to be incisor "try-bites" at the upper right. The marks appear to be betwixt porcupine and squirrel. (More towards porcupine—but there's no real "standard" for a measurement present).

If they are measured against your neighbor's beaver-bite bark damage, it may become clear that the incisor "try-bites" are the smaller two of the three animals. (Clearing the beaver of tree-assault-and-battery).



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