Walking through large parks of significant age and size usually means that you’re going to come across some old trees. Sometimes, these old trees will form an orderly pattern that is indicative of an old field hedgerow or boundary. This seems to be the case in the below images, which were taken in the same park as my post yesterday on the sycamore monolith with Kretzschmaria deusta. Old trees like this can tell a tale therefore, not only of their past management, but of the situation they were once in. Assess the landscape and draw conclusions from what you see – the signs are there.
A line of wonderfully old oak pollards (one had a dbh of 152cm) now graces this lunch and seating area. Looking into the distance, we can see how the oaks form an orderly line indicative of an old boundary.These three oaks tell much the same story, though they have never been pollarded.A similar site yet again. These lines of oak were found all over the park, and when I looked carefully I could even see how some mature oaks now sat within newly-planted woodland. If the park managers are not careful, these older trees may fare poorly in time, as they are less able to compete for light.
Arboriculture 