New World Record For White Fir

[M.W.Taylor]

Just got back measuring a few more LiDAR trees with Duncan. This time we got a world record white fir. Duncan found this after sifting through some previously searched LiDAR I was working on. For some reason I missed this one. Also in the area is an exceptional ponderosa pine.

Species: White fir (Abies concolor)
Height: 257,5 feet (78.48m)
Dbh 5.5 feet
Location: Western Sierra Nevada


Species: Ponderosa Pine
Height: 258,5 feet (78.79m)
Dbh 7.1 feet
Location: Western Sierra Nevada

[dbhguru]

Michael,

Congratulations. That trees like this can still be found continues to surprise me. It also affirms how truly challenging it is to cover the vast area representing the range of a species.

Bob

[bbeduhn]

Michael,

I cannot seem to locate the post, but when doing research, I came across an entry for an 80m white fir that you and Duncan had found. There's a chance I screwed something up somewhere. I have a feeling it may have been posted for a possible maximum and not an actual measurement. Either way, a 257'+ white fir is awesome!

Brian

[DAKennedy]

Michael,

I cannot seem to locate the post, but when doing research, I came across an entry for an 80m white fir that you and Duncan had found. There's a chance I screwed something up somewhere. I have a feeling it may have been posted for a possible maximum and not an actual measurement. Either way, a 257'+ white fir is awesome!

Brian

Brian,

I checked the posting you made and cross-referenced it with the post for that expedition, and I couldn't find anything on an 80 meter white fir in that post (see "Sierra County's Tallest Forest" for reference). There's a chance something may have gotten lost in translation somewhere, but Michael and I haven't found any taller trees than that anytime recently.

- Duncan

[bbeduhn]

Duncan,
Thanks for the clarification. I did find a note for it being at Cherokee Creek. I went through thousands of posts, so I may have written it down out of context. I'm trying to keep up with your Western records with a few from the East. It isn't easy but I suspect I'll have one or two by Thanksgiving weekend.
Brian

[M.W.Taylor]

Michael,

Congratulations. That trees like this can still be found continues to surprise me. It also affirms how truly challenging it is to cover the vast area representing the range of a species.

Bob

Thank you Bob. I owe this discovery to Duncan. The LiDAR point cloud of this tree, when viewed from a side profile, clearly looks like a white fir. Google Earth imagery confirms this.

Michael

[M.W.Taylor]

Duncan,
Thanks for the clarification. I did find a note for it being at Cherokee Creek. I went through thousands of posts, so I may have written it down out of context. I'm trying to keep up with your Western records with a few from the East. It isn't easy but I suspect I'll have one or two by Thanksgiving weekend.
Brian

Brian, I asked Steve Sillett and Bob Van Pelt about it. The tallest they know about is 75.4m, so this is a record. Looking a the top of this tree it appears there is no problem it could attain 80m. It's almost there now. The top has a great supporting base.

Michael

[tsharp]

Michael, Duncan:
Should not the proper name for the fir be Sierra White Fir (A. lowiana}
. Regardless of name it is an impressive specimen.

[dbhguru]

Michael, Duncan, et al.,

The attachment is an adaptation to white fir of the general FIA-COLE volume-biomass model. Whether the model fits the Sierra Nevada white fir or not, I cannot say. The original data comes from the FIADB.

The worksheet may have value in computing volume, biomass, and carbon equivalents for the fun of it, if nothing else. Michael and Duncan, I created this adaptation in honor of your discovery.

Bob

[M.W.Taylor]

Michael, Duncan:
Should not the proper name for the fir be Sierra White Fir (A. lowiana}
. Regardless of name it is an impressive specimen.

Yes. This is Sierra White fir but technically Abies concolor Var. lowiana. The subspecies is assumed because that is all there is in the Sierra Nevada. Same with the tall ponderosa nearby. Pinus ponderosa var. benthamiana. I usually don't list the subspecies unless it interfaces with other varieties. It's assumed.