As I mentioned in a recent post, I am about to ask permission from the Tree Register to climb and accurately measuresome of the tallest trees in Britain. To help convince them that this is a good idea, I've been trying to think of other things that can be gained from actually climbing the trees. For example: documenting lichens, mosses and other epiphytes, inspection of any damage or decay and a close-up assesment of the leader shoot.

These trees aren't nearing the limits of their lifespans or height for their species so maybe more advanced research like measuring leaf growth vs height or composition of sap, soil and climate data is pointless here (and I'm not a botanist anyway so the best I could do is pass on data to those who will understand it).

However if anyone has any suggestions I would be very grateful.

Michael