Scenes of Death and Damage in PNW Trees.

[Cruiser]

Pictures and observations from working in the forest.



The top of a tree is a vulnerable area. Most will have their tops damaged/broken at some point.



Lower branch retention and back-budding increase chances of survival when a top gets blown out.



Standing dead trees (snags) and downed-woody debris are important structural components in a mature forest.

An old growth noble fir snag stands tall among its brethren. 71” diameter and 188’ tall, a giant for the species.
Its death is representative of late stage old growth stand development, Pioneer Cohort Loss.



Douglas-fir along the coast of Bowman Bay, Deception Pass. Hostile growing conditions and time ensure that no two trees look the same.


Alpine fir take a rigid, upright approach to life and maintain it into death.

A tall fir marches on in view of its ghostly comrades. Younger generations huddle below.



Ponderosa pine. Thick bark may protect a tree from fires below but sometimes flames come from above.



A rotting snag, once a large fir that died in the Yacolt Burn of 1902.
Beetles, woodpeckers, and other wildlife have made use of it for over a century.




Rotting stumps and logs provide scaffolding for seedlings to grow on.



Sitka spruce. Standing dead, tall, and proud.



A tremendous amount of force is needed to break such a large trunk. Years of fungal decay pave the way for such a thing to occur.



Beginning stage of the famed candelabra tops in red cedar. Additional leaders will need to grow and then die to create the candelabra.
In most other trees dead tops get blown out/rot long before new leaders have time to go through the process, but cedar wood is persistent.



Dead top ponderosa. Cascades in the distance.



A troll probably lives in this maple cavity.

 

[Cruiser]

Beetle galleries.



Springboard notches. Evidence of old logging.



Western red cedar (122”)
Half of its trunk is dead…

..and it’s top was blown out. A reiterated trunk continues to fuel its survival




Pacific madrone deadwood lasts for exceptionally long periods for a broadleaf species.



A trunk may start to grow around the base of a dead branch if it remains long enough.



Weathered jins may hold onto their bark for long periods.



Lower trunk damage (bear on hemlock).



Trunks sometimes get damaged by equipment when a forest is thinned. This tree has healed over a large mechanical wound.



A falling tree created this wound. It took decades to heal over such a large area.




Frost damage. Aligned with wood grain, it spirals around a trunk. Most often seen in high elevation firs.

 

[Cruiser]

Mistletoe infection. Western hemlock.




Mistletoe in Douglas-fir.



Scorched bark on a western hemlock peels right off. The wood inside is no good.



Thick bark on Douglas-firs makes them more fire resistant. Though this tree died, there is still salvageable sawlog volume in there.







A swath of snags atop a bed of boulders. Stunted regeneration below. Mt St Helens in the distance.
When the mountain erupted in 1980 it created a lahar that ripped through the area.



The scorched remains of a vine maple. It’s typical for them to grow into large flowing clumps like this. Not so pretty from a bonsai perspective but very practical for wildlife.



They say that in the woods around here, you’re never more than 20 feet from a Coors light can.

 

[Japonicus]

Great photography

 

[Cruiser]

Thanks. Phone cameras nowadays are surprisingly good!

 

[CapeCodBonsai]

Thank you for the wealth of reference images. They’re very useful to those of us that don’t frequent your part of the country.

 

[Japonicus]

Thanks. Phone cameras nowadays are surprisingly good!

No way

 

[yashu]

Another great thread with interesting and informative photos. Thanks again @Cruiser

 

[Cruiser]

No way

Sincerely. iPhone 15 and whatever generation of phone that work provides.

 

[Cruiser]

Old silver fir. Symmetry of youth is long gone.


Uneven exposure to hostile conditions.


Irregular crowns of an old canopy. Model-conforming growth and epicormic branching gets tweaked into what works best (and survives) in a given location.


As the canopy rises in a crowded forest, lower limbs get shaded and die. They may persist for decades but eventually are shed.


A broken top has caused the topmost branches of this hemlock to start growing upwards as a new apex.

Frequent top damage results in dense branching lower on a trunk.


Failed attempts.


A broken top has encouraged the formation of reiterated trunks on this hemlock.

 

[Cruiser]

A shifting foundation forces adaptation. Or brings death.



When this red cedar fell, it landed on a stump and layered into it.


Evidence of previous logging is common in PNW forests.


Weird growing situations occur in the forest.



Douglas-firs can fuse roots with one another. If one tree gets cut, another may be able keep it alive and heal over the cut.


Old conifers have been put through the wringer. Top growth has slowed. Christmas tree apices are a thing of the past.

 

[GGB]

this thread is awesome, thanks

 

[Yamamomiji]

Wow, stunning photos in great landscapes and even more give the feeling of how little man is compared to forces of nature really.
Love your attention to detail and your observation most people would simply pass by or simply overlook.

I applaud you!
I am really looking forward to your next posts and hope to be able to visit this great region once too.

 

[RODERLO]

Please never stop posting these. They're incredibly inspiring and informative!

 

[JudyB]

Thank you!

 

[August44]

Great photos and many thanks for your time spent. I'm in the forest a lot and, like you, see many things that most people never see. Nice to have someone like you showing what is really there.

 

[queenofsheba52]

Oh WOW -- is all I can say! I am blown away, both by what is in the forest and by the work that you put into this thread. . Thank you for the virtual forest trip. I look forward to more pics as you have time!