High tech trees
One of our favourite ancient trees is at the heart of an innovative research project funded by the Woodland Trust Conservation Research Programme.
One of the champion trees of the Scottish Borders, the Capon Tree features in an innovative research project named SCATTER: Scanning Ancient Trees with Terrestrial LiDAR. Funded by The Woodland Trust Conservation Research Programme and carried out by researchers from UCL with logistical support & ancient oak expertise from The Ancient Tree Forum, this project features oak trees, important for their “iconic ecological and cultural components of our UK landscape.”
How do they grow so old? How can we protect them? How can we ensure today’s trees young oaks reach such a great age? Information about our ancient trees is key to understanding how to look after them. Better care will ensure our ancient trees continue to thrive to the best of their ability for many years to come.
“There are more ancient and veteran oaks found in England than the rest of Europe combined. These special trees are fundamental components of our landscape, providing habitat for many wildlife species, storing carbon and representing our cultural and historical heritage.”
The importance of this care stems from the fact that each tree is a biological complex comprising host, epiphytes, symbionts, parasites and a whole web of organisms dependant on the tree for food, shelter and reproduction. Oak trees are mini biodiversity hotspots and are used by 2300 species with some 200 highly dependant on them. This kind of key role is easily overlooked as often these species live deep within the tree and are rarely seen. Some fungi are incredibly rare and an invertebrates species, the Violet Click Beetle found on ancient ash trees is only known from 3 sites in the entire UK.
The Capon Tree is an old tree. Growing up in the Scottish Borders in the 80’s, my childhood was full of adventures outdoors, getting wet and muddy and exploring the woods near to home. Big oaks abound for they grow well along the River Tweed and daily walks encountered trees 30m high. I no concept of how old they were, they were all simply huge. By then the Capon Tree was already centuries old.
As one of the last surviving trees of the ancient Scottish Jedforest, it has lived for at the very least many hundreds of years, it could even be 1000 years old. The tree itself is thought to be a Penduculate oak, Quercus robur, that however also shows some features of Quercus petraea, our native Sessile Oak. As an undisputedly celebrated tree, it has stood sentinel throughout the turbulent history of the border country and its name may derive from the rich local history of monks from the nearby mediaeval monastery. See here for a photo of the tree looking a little more youthful from the 1700’s in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
The latest Woodland Trust volunteer newsletter detailed this new approach at a very sophisticated level using high-tech gadgets and surveying skills. We knew of the digital scan of Beauty’s ancient elm, sadly no longer standing. Now it is possible to explore digitally the Capon Tree in 3 dimensions as you have never seen it before, as an incredible 3D laser-scanned model showing such detail of structure and form throughout its canopy. Generously, this open-access digital archive is free to use and do check out all the scans and 3D images including one of the famous Cadzow trees, the Birnam Oak, the Balmaha Oak and many more examples here.
Finally, here’s two things you can do.
First, a cool thing: with an iPhone 12 Pro model or later, you can have a go at using LiDAR to create 3D models. Secondly, please help put ancient trees on the map. By adding to the Ancient Tree Inventory, you'll be helping to celebrate and protect our most important trees. It’s very straightforward and your local knowledge is invaluable. Recording can involve taking basic measurements, although as you can see below for the Capon Tree at least, sometimes a 10m tape is not big enough! Go check out the links and happy tree hunting!
When visiting ancient trees, please be respectful to these living legends and their custodians.
