Bialowieza Forest, Poland

[KoutaR]

Jeroen,

You have sent me some copy of emails by Tomasz (in English). I have found he writes good English. And if there are some errors, it is not so bad. I constantly make grammatical errors, too, but nevertheless ENTS read my messages and answer to them!

- Kouta

[James Parton]

Jeroen & Kouta,

Even us English speakers make grammatical errors. You don't have to be German or Polish to do that! You guys do well.

JP

[Jeroen Philippona]

In April Leo Goudzwaard and I will visit together with four more Dutch people will visit the Bialowieza Primeaval Forest in Poland. There we will meet Tomasz Niechoda, who has done a lot of measurements in Bialowieza and has great knowledge of the forest.

Tomasz has sended me some new heightmeasurements he has done in January / February.
The tallest of each species printed fat.

Norway spruce - Picea abies
- 50,2 m / 164,7 feet - cbh 408 cm / 13,4 feet
- 49,2 m / 161,4 feet - cbh 330 cm / 10,8 feet

Scots pine - Pinus sylvestris
- 45,2 m / 148,29 feet
- 42,6 m / 139,76 feet - cbh 260 cm / 8,53 feet
- 41,8 m / 137,14 feet - cbh 220 cm / 7,28 feet
- 40,4 m / 132,5 feet - cbh 378 cm / 12,4 feet

European common ash - Fraxinus excelsior
- 44,8 m / 146,98 feet
- cbh 408 cm / 13,39 feet - this was probably taller, but difficult to measure.
- 40,5 m / 132,87 feet - cbh 525 cm / 17,22 feet

English oak - Quercus robur
- 42,6 m / 139,76 feet - cbh 540 cm / 17,7 feet
- 41,2 m / 135,17 feet - cbh 728 cm / 23,88 feet

Wych elm - Ulmus glabra
- 38,4 m / 125,98 feet
- 35,2 m / 115,49 feet - cbh 330 cm / 10,83 feet

Norway maple - Acer platanoides
-37,2 m / 122 feet
34,8 m / 114,17 feet - cbh 413 cm / 13,55 feet

Black alder - Alnus glutinosa
-37,2 m / 122 feet

Small-leaved lime - Tilia cordata
- 36,2 m / 118,77 feet
- 35,2 m / 115,49 feet - cbh 420 cm / 13,78 feet
- 32 m / 105 feet - cbh 580 cm / 19,03 feet

Silver birch - Betula pendula
33,5 m / 109,91 feet

We hope to see many of these trees and perhaps to find some new record specimens.

Jeroen

[dbhguru]

Jeroen,

Thanks so much for the information. We'll all do what we can from this side of the pond to show our support. What an absolutely fabulous place. Norway spruces and English oaks rule.

Bob

[Joe]

Though, most likely, no logging should take place in this special place- I'm interested in knowing what sort of logging has been done or is being proposed- after all, let's keep in mind, that there is a huge difference between just hammering a forest (the most common method in much of North America)- vs. doing a very light, careful harvest. I would love to see photos of whatever harvesting is taking place. If it's done very carefully, that's maybe 50% as good as leaving it alone. If the people in that area really need the wood- it's going to be difficult to tell them "no"- so at least if it's done right, the damage is limited.
Joe