On a recent Holiday to Port Stephens (which is located some 220km north of Sydney, NSW), I travelled further north to Bulahdelah and stumbled across what was signposted and what was apparently the tallest tree in NSW. After driving down 5km of dirt track and walking only 150m ‘The Grandis’ as it is locally known was observed. The Eucalyptus grandis (commonly known as Flooded Gum) is allegedly 76m tall with a trunk diameter of 2.7m at breast height. The tree is claimed to be 400 years old.
Further research alerted me to a different tallest tree in NSW, which is located in the Cunnawarra Flora Reserve on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, west of Coffs Harbour and 400 odd kilometres north of Sydney (http://www.forest.nsw.gov.au/bush/aug97/stories/9.asp). The Giant White Gum (Eucalyptus nobilis) was measured at 79m with no trunk diameter provided.
The interest and intrigue in tall trees got me thinking about exactly how much carbon is stored in these forest giants and how this might be calculated, given the impending release by the Australian Government of a carbon emission trading scheme and the current interest in carbon sequestration.
A simple and rough approach is to calculate the dry weight of the tree using an algorithm and to multiply this result by 45%, which is a rough estimate of total carbon as a percentage of dry tree weight. The root mass of a tree is roughly 20% of the above ground tree mass (varies for species and conditions), which needs to be added to the total weight. On this basis ‘The Grandis’ has approximately 76 metric tonnes of carbon stored within its total mass of 233 tonnes. If the tree is 400 years old, this misleadingly equates to an average of 190kg of carbon being sequestered per year. This is misleading because carbon sequestration by trees seems to correlate with growth rates. Young and semi-mature trees that are vigorous will lock up more carbon than more mature or old declining trees. All very impressive nevertheless.
What is the tallest tree for other states? We now know that Tasmania has the tallest tree in Australia and Victoria has the tallest mainland tree but what about our northern and western states. Can anyone fill in the gaps?
List of tallest trees by state or territory
|
State or Territory |
Species |
Height (m) |
DBH (cm) |
Location |
|
Tasmania |
Eucalyptus regnans |
101.00 |
405 |
Discovered in a state forest near the Tahune Airwalk tourist attraction, 80km south-west of Hobart |
|
Victoria |
Eucalyptus regnans |
91.60 |
2.73 |
Wallaby Creek |
|
Western Australia |
Eucalyptus diversicolor |
85.00 |
? |
Near Pemberton |
|
New South Wales |
Eucalyptus nobilis |
79.90 |
? |
Cunnawarra Flora Reserve |
|
South Australia |
|
|
|
|
|
Queensland |
|
|
|
|
|
Canberra |
|
|
|
|
16. January 2009 at 3:27 pm
A big storm, possibly a small tornado as evidenced by the narrow path of great destruction, went through the Cunnawarra Reserve in the early 2000s felling many giant trees. It missed the Noble Tree by about 30 metres. Storms like this are probably important in the regeneration of this species in the area, which is largely a mix of cool and warm temperate rainforests with emergent E. nobilis.
25. May 2009 at 4:54 pm
Not sure we can help but just flick us an email on mail@treelogic.com.au
31. October 2009 at 9:32 am
Where do you get 85m from for the tallest karri? There is a link for Warren National Park that says 89m is the tallest.
26. July 2010 at 3:19 pm
There are more than likely taller trees than the Noble Tree in the upper reaches of the Cunnawarra Reserve. This was the only one measured due to the difficulty experienced in getting in to the tree. I have found a much easier and quicker way in to the area of the really tall trees instead of from Softwood Trail, which is a very difficult route and the one taken by the Forestry surveyors who measured the Noble Tree. The upper Georges Creek valley in the area below Beech Lookout is certainly worthwhile exploring for more tall trees.