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Came here to discuss the same section. It makes sense that urban trees die younger when you think about how heavily the odds are stacked against them: * No net
by kaycebasques 8y ago
Came here to discuss the same section. It makes sense that urban trees die younger when you think about how heavily the odds are stacked against them:
* No network of fellow of trees to share nutrients and information with via their roots, as mentioned above.
* Dogs constantly pissing on the trunk.
* Smog.
* Planted in a small patch of dirt, surrounded by concrete. The dirt itself is usually extremely compacted so no water gets through to the roots.
* Gardeners and city workers constantly cutting off branches, exposing inner wood to deadly fungi.
- BurningFrog 8y agoI thought the piss was nutritious for plants?
- atulatul 8y agoNot so much on their trunks.
- aaron_oxenrider 8y agoAs with many things, the quantity matters. Too much of a good thing is not beneficial. If you over fertilize, it can "burn" the plant. That is why most dog owners will find dead spots in their grass where the dog prefers to pee.
- sevensor 8y agoNot to mention people constantly ramming vehicles into them. There's not a tree in my town that doesn't have a big scar on the trunk at bumper level.
- RobotCaleb 8y agoNot a single one?
- pkaye 8y agoNot even the one in their backyard.
- sevensor 8y agoYou got me. I exaggerated. A large number of streetside trees in the downtown area have accident scars on them.
- yellowapple 8y agoIt's a town tradition to inaugurate a tree's planting by ramming it with a car.
- TrustAndSafety 8y agothe odds are not stacked against them, plants (and other living creatures) do their best to colonize new places. That's why trees have soooo many seeds. Reproduction is the goal, not longevity.
- kaycebasques 8y agoDo you see a lot of urban trees naturally propagating?
- beat 8y agoLiving in an urban forest, ripping up wild young trees is part of normal yard maintenance. I probably get at least a dozen a year. Two of my full-sized trees in my yard were wild seedlings that I allowed to grow because I like those particular kinds of trees (a catalpa and a sumac), and they were in good locations. This also includes invasive tree species like buckthorn, which is a villain in our area. Buckthorns pop up constantly.
- kaycebasques 8y agoI guess one could view urban tree dynamics as extreme selection for certain traits. They have to be pretty, and in a location that won't inconvenience humans, and they can't do anything to inconvenience humans, like cause allergies, and they have to be extremely resilient.
- beat 8y agoAnd around here, they have to be ok if it hits -20F sometimes in the winter. I have a magnolia, and it completely boggles me that it survives and thrives this far north.