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Re: pine tree removal

At 12:13 PM 9/25/97 +1200, Tony Ryan wrote:

>- at the time of the "Wahine storm" about 30
>years ago (for non-NZ'ers, this storm with winds over 100mph sank a
>7000-ton ship with heavy loss of life) - a friend at Pinehaven had the
>experience of watching mature Radiata pines snapping off about 6 feet
>above the ground and the tops blowing away like straws! THREE of these
>big trees crashed down on the roof of his house. Fortunately it was a
>strong construction and surprisingly little damage was done to the
>house! Still, it is an indication of the strength of Radiata's roots!!! 

I remember driving down the somewhere road south of Cristchurch some years
ago -- there'd obviously been a bit of a wind in the previous months because
all the P radiata plantations were a real mess -- hardly a tree left
standing -- but, like you say, snapped off above the ground, none uprooted
that I noticed.

On the other hand, the plantation eucalyptuses hadn't been affected at all
(except for a limb broken off here and there).  So maybe it says more for
the brittleness of P radiata trunks, rather than the strength of their roots.

John
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