How old are our oaks?

One of the things that surprises people as they walk up to Roundball Woods from Weatherall Way is how the branch has fallen off the large oak without damaging the fence that surrounds it. Looking closely, it looks as if it was down to the shape of the branch and good luck, but it poses the question is the tree in danger, is it dying?

It is well documented that oaks can live for over 500 years, but how old is our oak? The first answer that comes up is count the growth rings. This can be done when the tree is cut down or by taking core samples. As both of these are not options, another method is to use a rough formulae.  Measure the circumference of the tree in metres and divide by 2.5. By using this formulae it looks as if the age of the oak is around 250 years. This takes it back to the mid to late 1700's.

So is our oak dying? The answer to that is definitely not. Trees, unlike many other plants have evolved for longevity and oaks are particularly long lived. There are examples around the country over 500 years old, so our tree is probably just middle aged. 

In order to survive, trees need a method of getting rid of superfluous branches which were formed when they were young, so the loss of the large branch on our oak is part of its survival techniques. Oaks react to such damage by laying down barriers and walling off damaged areas.  Over their life they survive by shedding higher branches and broadening at the base and often hollowing out.

As I stop for a breather on my climb up to the woods I look at the oak and wonder whether it will still be there in 250 years time. I suspect that this will be down to human intervention rather than the trees ability to survive.