How to Identify a Dead Tree
Trees are truly one of nature's gifts. In addition to being a beautiful accent to any yard or garden, they provide shade, give shelter to a multitude of animals and produce oxygen for the air to breathe. When a tree dies, it is important to know how to identify it so that you can take proper steps for its disposal. Here are some tips for identifying a dead tree. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Feel the bark. Bark on any tree will feel rough to the touch, but the bark of a living tree will give a bit of resistance when you try to pull a piece of it off the tree. Bark of a dead tree will feel dryer than normal, will probably flake off in your hand and will break off easily if you try to remove a piece of it from the tree.
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Look for leaves. Obviously this will not help you identify a dead tree in the winter, but if you are trying to identify one during the summer, this tip is helpful. A dead tree will either have no leaves on it at all, or it will have leaves that are dry, wilted, browning and falling off the tree.
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Pull the branches. Branches of a living tree will be springy--they will give resistance when you try to break them off the tree and will spring back into place when you let them go. Dead tree branches break right off the tree and snap in two instead of just bending if you try to break the branch in half.
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Locate green wood. Take a branch off the tree and break it in half. If it is alive, the wood inside should be a clean white color, possibly with a layer of green between the bark and the wood, depending on the variety of tree, and it will feel smooth and damp to the touch. A dead tree's wood will feel dry and splintery and will be off-white and dull in color.
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Find inhabitants. A living tree is host to a wide variety of wildlife, from birds and squirrels that nest in its branches to insects that feed on its bark. There will be few if any animals living in a dead tree because a dead tree will not attract other bugs that birds eat or produce nuts for squirrels. If a tree seems devoid of animal life, this is a good sign that it might be dead.
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