Tree identification
Tree I.D. is a fundamental skill for anybody who is involved in the management and protection of a site. Ultimately trees are a depended on by many other species, with some species only found on certain species of tree.
Me and a fellow colleague, Al, have gone out with the distinct purpose on brushing up on out winter tree identification skills, in the Chevin Forest Park near Otley. Primarily, this involves using only bark and twigs as a source of identification. Identification of trees in winter is relatively simple, once you understand the different patterns of budding on twigs, as well as types of bark.
We cheated a bit with Britain’s two most common oak species the sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and English oak (Quercus robur), by identifying them by leaf stem as well as other features.
Here’s a few links to the location and useful books we used on the day:
Chevin info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chevin
Tree ID - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Tree-Guide-Owen-Johnson/dp/0007207719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357321438&sr=8-1
(via theherbarium)
