Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn President Bill Clendaniel Retires | Page 9

to Mount Auburn
Beech trees are now known to be highly susceptible to
droughts, which have become increasingly common in
Boston during the past few decades. When stressed by
droughts, beeches become vulnerable to a fungal blight
disease. In 1982 we first noticed what would become rec-
ognized as Beech Tree Decline, a condition characterized
by branch die-back and oozing black lesions on the trunk
of the tree (photo1). This decline seems to affect the largest
and oldest trees, specimens 120 to 150 years old.
In March 2007, we brought in a team using the Picus
Sonic Tomograph, a new European technology to conduct
sound wave imaging. This detects and electronically mea-
sures the amount of compromised wood in a tree trunk.
Using these measurements, arborists weigh the chances of
trunk failure. When more than 33% of the trunk’s wood
is unsound, arborists usually decide to remove a tree. The
imaging done for the Prince of Wales Beech showed more
than 50% of the wood in the trunk was unsound, so the
tree had to be cut down.
Members of the arborist staff work diligently to aid
Mount Auburn’s collection of beeches, though an effec-
tive treatment for the Beech Tree Decline remains elusive.
Without their efforts, our beech collection would suffer
further depletion.
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L to r: President Bill Clendaniel, Superintendant of Grounds Paul
Walker, and Vice Presidents Dave Barnett and Mike Albano observe
the remaining stump of the tree.
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