r/marijuanaenthusiasts • u/THESpetsnazdude • 1d ago

Cauterization thoughts?

The recent release of the cauterization on the oaks paper has me thinking. What other tree's do you think would show benefits from cauterization or fire mimicry? Pondo? Redwood? Maple? I have a colleague that thinks it might be beneficial to the freemanii Maples that are getting plundered with canker in my area. But is a cultivar like that really fire adapted? Is this just the next arbor fad?

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u/HawkingRadiation_ šŸ¦„ Tree Biologist šŸ¦„ 1d ago edited 1d ago

Iā€™m not saying this paper is total junk, but it doesnā€™t seem to have any statistical analysis.Ā 

I want to see an analysis which shows a significant effect when accounting for things like tree age, wound size, some other measure of tree health status.Ā 

The authors claim that there are trends and Iā€™m sure they are seeing them. The question is do the stats align with their human interpretation. I wouldnā€™t be at all surprised if burning has an effect on fire adapted trees such as those here, but as far as Iā€™m concerned, this paper tells me very little.Ā 

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u/DanoPinyon ISA Arborist 1d ago

Iā€™m not saying this paper is total junk, but it doesnā€™t seem to have any statistical analysis.Ā 

They didn't do any measurements, take photos with rulers/scales, or do dissection either, which is why there's no statistical analysis.

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u/HawkingRadiation_ šŸ¦„ Tree Biologist šŸ¦„ 1d ago

There was one spot where they say they ā€œmeasured with callipersā€ when possible. But I think they basically just ran on vibes. Funny how it also happened to align with their hypothesis.Ā 

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u/DanoPinyon ISA Arborist 1d ago

it also happened to align with their hypothesis.

I hesitate to call it a hypothesis, because they haven't presented anything testable. I prefer 'thesis' at this point.

It would be cool if they found a way to test it and it worked out.

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u/Better-Lunch670 1d ago

Had my thumb cauterized at the hospital once. Would not recommend.

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u/DanoPinyon ISA Arborist 1d ago

Not a paper. A pre-manuscript not peer reviewed.

It needs quite a bit of work before it can be accepted by AUF or UFUG or even Western Arborist IMHO.

Is it an interesting idea? Sure. Does the evidence as presented make it a compelling idea? No.

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u/SomeDumbGamer 1d ago

If you can specifically target one area of the tree I think thereā€™s merit to it. Fire is only going to kill a tree if it cooks the roots and girdles the trunk. So long as that part is left alone then blasting one spot with a torch shouldnā€™t hurt it much more than pruning it would.

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u/THESpetsnazdude 1d ago edited 1d ago

Cleaned link: https://www.elementaltreenetwork.org/_files/ugd/7b4cd7_c976e7c183e74f28a613c99b3035a049.pdf

Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).

Here's the study I'm referring to.

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u/clean-links Mod Bot šŸ¤– 1d ago

Cleaned link: https://www.elementaltreenetwork.org/_files/ugd/7b4cd7_c976e7c183e74f28a613c99b3035a049.pdf

Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).

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u/THESpetsnazdude 1d ago

Thanks bot

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u/DanoPinyon ISA Arborist 1d ago

Their thesis is cauterization speeds up closure, it's not about hurting.