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Perry."
I'm sorry. I'm troubled by the above assumption and prediction. I thought Mark's comment was a good one in asking if this problem (mulch against the trunk of trees) was so meaningful, why wasn't it a problem in forest with deep layers of litter?
One of the ways our knowledge moves forweard is to consider apparent contradictions. Mark says, if this is a problem here, why don't I see it there? That's not a puzzle that gets answered by words; it gets best answered by by physical examinations. To say, well, forest trees have time to adjust naturally is only an answer in words. My initial response would be to ask, why don't city tree have the same opportunities and capacities? What would the time scale be? At what depth and at what time does mulch become biologically and chemically active or destructive to a tree?
My observeration is that we're probably looking here at one of the ever-blossoming generalizations that's been lying around so long that it deteriorates into a cliche that is now so sticky that it'll hang on anything we throw it at. Look around honestly, we have been turning physical mulch itself into a cliche. Use it here, throw it there--I even taken photograps of lighting poles that were mulched!
An awful lot of trees planted here in Chicago have a new entertaining look. The dirt from digging the hole is no longer carried away; it gets piled on the top of the ball and another 10 inches of mulch is added to the top. The ridiculous conclusion to this convenient new landscaping practice is a mulchy taffy apple half-buried in the ground with some leaves fluttering above it. I guess, lazy is as lazy does.
Where is the flare? Where was the original grade of that tree before transplanting? It's down there somewhere. Who cares? Where's my money?
Perhaps I shouldn't be too critical. In answer to the question of planting a tree high or low, these guys have managed to plant their trees simultaneously high AND low. How much time do you think trees will need to figure that one out?
The presence of time is a critical part of any life and growth. Having time available for adaptation or response is often the difference between life and death in many of nature's battles. But I don't think a caution recognizing time the way you made it invalidates Mark's question about consistent effects.
As I was pecking this out, it occurred to me that leaf litter is more the natural composite of forest floors or the areas around individual trees. I remember looking at a maple or a rise that had its leaves spread around it in a circle, and thinking how brilliantly the tree recycles--those leaves are exactly the building blocks that will be taken up a few years from now. Everything the tree had to scrounge for earlier in elements and minerals is right there waiting for the up escalator of decay. In a forest, wind rarely scatters it, the efficiency of the process is probably very good.
We, of course, know better and throw leaves away! (?)
If we want to talk about natural conditions, mulching young trees with leaf litter fits a forest floor more that shredded trees. Think about it--what natural forest process grinds up trees and spreads the debris around? Don't give me an answer of, "It gets to the same state eventually." We've got all sorts of techniques to turn sewage to water, but you'll find few drinkers convinced by your argument that the probability of an ulitmate end product means you can doff a few glasses now. ....(Ah, No effluvia before its time, right Matilda?)....
Mark gets points for being inquisitive, it puts him in better stead that the cliche chucking that goes on here so often. God forbid, we might learn something if we allow ourselves to be unembarrassingly curious. Be careful however, the next thing you know we'll be replacing factoids with facts and actually talk about trees--instead of who sits where in the intellectual pile.
That old guy, Al Einstein, said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Hmmpph, just goes to show how stupid he is!
Bob Wulkowicz