The Dead Tree Detective- Scientists need your help spotting dead trees
Posted on 28 March, 2019 by Ivan
Have you seen dead or dying trees in your area? No doubt with the current hot and dry conditions, many of us have seen trees under severe moisture and heat stress.
A collective of concerned scientists have launched a new citizen science project, The Dead Tree Detective, which aims to record where and when trees have died in Australia. Unfortunately, the current drought across many regions of Australia has been so severe that some native trees have died or are under severe stress. It is important to document these occurrences, which will assist scientists in understanding and predicting how native forests and woodlands are vulnerable to climate extremes.
This project will allow people Australia-wide to report observations of tree death. In the past, there have been many occurrences of large-scale tree death that were initially identified by concerned members of the public such as farmers, bushwalkers, bird watchers or landholders. Collecting these observations is an important way to monitor the health of trees and ecosystems.
Climate extremes have pushed some of our local iconic native trees to their limits of survival, so it is essential to document which species are surviving better than others under these conditions. This project allows you to upload photos of your trees and answer a few questions to help identify the possible causes. You will find some information about each of these causes in the ‘Resources’ section. You can even revisit the locations in following months to document whether trees recover or not. To see what other records there are in your area, go to the ‘Data’ section. See the ‘Blog’ for details of any new major tree death events that we have become aware of.
Please click here to upload photos regarding this project and to read the full project description, which is hosted on the Atlas of Living Australia.
Red Box at St Brigid’s Catholic Church Maldon photo by Bev Phillips of Maldon Urban Landcare Group)
When I post you pictures of dead trees, the metadata with it includes the GPS info. Is that enough, can you access that, or would you prefer that I mark up the pics with the info? Best Regards, Warwick Nichols, Tea Gardens NSW
Thanks Warwick, you would need to contact the scientists running the program: deadtreedetective@westernsydney.edu.au ; b.medlyn@westernsydney.edu.au. Good question!
I have noticed in my area, behind Mt Tarrengower there are a few trees which have died or are dying. The causes are mainly due to the extent of mistletoe growing on them.
Yes, too much Mistletoe, when a tree is under stress, can cause dieback. We have had some good rains now, so hopefully some of those trees recover.