Friday, February 18, 2011Auburn announces next steps for Toomer's Corner, urges fans not to roll the trees Auburn University is mapping out a plan to save the Toomer's Corner oaks and is asking fans not to roll the trees.A task force has been formed that is designed to save the famed trees. It includes experts in horticulture, agronomy, civil engineering, forestry, chemistry and landscape services.They've asked fans not to walk in the trees' bedding area, which could further damage the trees. Workers have put up a fence around the bedding area and added a tarp to keep rainwater from going into the roots.A release by the school said soil removal begins early next week, with soil samples being taken to determine the concentration of herbicide at different depths.Civil engineers will also install small cylinders to monitor the downward spread of the herbicide Spike 80DF.Further actions will be based on the results of the initial steps.Read more: http://wareagleextra.blogspot.com/2011/02/auburn-announces-next-steps-for-toomers.html#ixzz1EQbUdmsH
Im at Toomers now...they got barracsdes and signs up around the trees, lots of police. Flowers being placed, rolls of tp being placed at the bases, but no rolling.
Jim is the roxxers at smart phones.
Tents go up around Toomer’s oaks, no decision yet on rolling the corner for upcoming football seasonWritten by StaffFootball, Sports, VillageFeb 21, 2011Tents placed around the base of the Toomer's oaks Monday as seen from the City of Auburn's Toomer's Corner webcam.Auburn officials have yet to decide whether to ask fans to refrain from rolling the dying oaks at Toomer’s Corner during the 2011 football season. Experts say the trees could take up to a year to die, unless their situation changes.“We have not had that discussion yet,†said university spokesperson Mike Clardy. “Right now we are focused on taking the steps we need to give them a fighting chance to make it to next season and beyond.â€A tarp was placed over the bedding area of the oaks Friday night to keep rainwater from going into the roots; a fence hung with signs asking fans to not roll the trees was also set up around the bedding area in anticipation of Saturday’s “Toomer’s Tree Hug†event.Clardy says the change in scenery at the corner is short term.“If you go by there today you will see tents around the base of the trees,†Clardy said. “The university is working with an outside tree service company to remove the affected soil around the roots. The tarps and tents are there to keep dust levels down.â€Information on the progress of the task force commissioned to save the iconic oaks, as well as decisions for the future related to fan celebrations, will be announced at www.auburn.edu/oaks .
According to AP reporter John Zenor, AU Prof. Gary Keever says he hopes to have poisoned soil replaced by end of today.
Per TWER:First good news of the day.
So, what if these trees make it? It's still hard for me to think otherwise.
That would be AUsome if they were to make it through this. What a story that would be to pass along to the next generation.
Soil Replacement, Feb. 24, 2011Landscape Services replaced soil in the beds excavated the previous day. Clean top soil was acquired from a local source. The process to replace the soil included adding additional activated charcoal in between layers of soil hand shoveled into place. Hand shoveling allowed us to place soil more accurately and insure the fines were agitated into the open spaces not necessarily visible. Holes were cut into the protective plastic tents for access, but we kept the basic structure in place to reduce the amount of charcoal dust that would carry in the air and be deposited on the plaza and elsewhere. Once the soil was placed, raked and settled by means of agitation, we watered the site to further settle the new soil into any remaining voids. As expected, soaking did settle the grade line and additional soil was brought in.The final step was the addition of clean pine bark to the beds. This serves multiple purposes, key ones being to retain the moisture, to add weight to aide in the settling and to dress the beds so the final appearance looks professional. The beds were then enclosed with protective barricades to lessen compaction of the soil in the beds.
Activated Charcoal Application to the Plaza 02-24-11Because of the detection of Spike beneath the plaza, the working group decided to apply flowable activated charcoal to the plaza pavers and the exterior of the granite curbing surrounding the tree beds. The majority of the plaza pavers are porous to allow water percolation, but this same property allows organic components to ‘cling’ to the pores. The action of applying and then washing in the activated charcoal through this area would expose those organic compounds to the binding characteristics of the activated charcoal. Additionally, any organic compound just beneath the pavers in the aggregate base would also be contacted by the activated charcoal. We expect most of the feeder roots to be below the aggregate base, and hope to lessen the downward movement of herbicide into the root zone by binding it to the charcoal. The crew used the same rate applied in the tree beds: 64 ounces per 1000 square feet of treated area.
Leaf Tissue Sampling 02-24-11All previous sampling has been of the soil in the beds or beneath the plaza. Initial leaf tissue samples and photosynthesis readings prior to the tree’s metabolic increase from winter dormancy set the base point for further analyses for herbicide uptake and translocation. Foliage was collected from the trees’ upper canopy which should be a sink for much of the herbicide absorbed by the root system and transported throughout the tree.
Toomer's Oaks Task Force methods and offers of assistance, Feb. 28, 2011Several individuals and groups have contacted Auburn University and offered their ideas, time, and services to help save Toomer's oaks. We greatly appreciate these offers; however, it is not possible to respond to every inquiry or offer of help due to the nature of the problem and the rapid pace of the on-going response. The university has assembled a task force composed primarily of Auburn faculty with expertise covering all aspects of the response. With respect to potential soil and groundwater contamination by the herbicide: Faculty from the Civil Engineering Department (Environmental Science Group) and the Agronomy and Soils Department, in collaboration with Auburn University, private environmental firms and state regulatory staff, have developed and are implementing a strategy for assessing the magnitude and distribution of contaminants related to the herbicide Spike 80DF in soil and groundwater.With regards to using nutritional Supplements, fertilizers, or other growth stimulants to help save the trees:An important factor in tree health is that they have moisture, nutrients and carbohydrates available for leaf and twig growth. When nutrients are present in the soil, trees respond by actively growing new root tips and translocating nutrients and water from the soil to the leaves. Unfortunately, the herbicide used to poison the trees is water soluble and is easily taken up by the roots. Once into the xylem the herbicide is transported to the leaves where the compound interferes with photosynthesis and destroys the chlorophyll and cell membranes. In contrast to favorable growing conditions, when trees are under stress they compensate by shutting down transpiration, and the translocation of water and nutrients from the soil. Therefore, to limit the movement of herbicide to the leaves and the effects of the herbicide on new tissue growth, the use of nutrients or carbohydrates to "feed" the Toomer's Oaks was not considered a good option at this time.With regards to using biostimulants to enhance microbial degradation of the herbicide:While this technique has been successfully used for remediation of certain soil contaminants, it has not been demonstrated to be effective for tebuthiuron degradation within conditions similar to the Toomer's oaks poisoning. Tebuthiuron is extremely persistent in the soil. Although microbial degradation of tebuthiuron can occur in soil, it is not considered to be the dominant mechanism of dissipation in temperate climates. Since microorganisms around the tree roots have no prior exposure to tebuthiuron, microbial degradation, even with application of biostimulants, is not likely to occur fast enough to bring tebuthiuron concentrations down to a non-toxic level within a short period of time. Despite the costs, excavation of soil is the most rapid and effective way for removing high concentrations of tebuthiuron.
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