Lably
Skip to content

Tree height measurement

  • 30 min read
  • 7 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Trigonometric functions and Remote sensing

Tree height is one of the parameters commonly measured as part of various champion tree programs and documentation efforts. Other commonly used parameters, outlined in Tree measurement include height, girth, crown spread, and volume. Additional details on the methodology of tree girth measurement, tree crown measurement, and tree volume measurement are presented in the links herein. American Forests, for example, uses a formula to calculate Big Tree Points as part of their Big Tree Program that awards a tree 1 point for each foot of height, 1 point for each inch (2.54 cm) of girth, and ¼ point for each foot of crown spread. The tree whose point total is the highest for that species is crowned as the champion in their registry. The other parameter commonly measured, in addition to the species and location information, is wood volume. A general outline of tree measurements is provided in the article Tree Measurement with more detailed instructions in taking these basic measurements is provided in "The Tree Measuring Guidelines of the Eastern Native Tree Society" by Will Blozan.

Maximum heights

The tallest tree in the world is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) growing in Northern California that has been named Hyperion. In September 2012, it was measured at 115.72 meters (379.7 feet) tall. There are 7 other coastal redwoods known to be over 112 meters (367 feet) in height, and 222 specimens over 105 meters (344 feet). There are only five species known to grow over 91 meters (299 feet) in height worldwide.

There are historical accounts of extremely tall and large trees. In the northeastern United States, for example, there are frequent stories published in newspapers and magazines dating from the 1800s telling of extremely tall white pines (Pinus strobus). One extraordinary account in the Weekly Transcript, North Adams, Mass., Thursday, July 12, 1849 reads: "A Large Tree. --- Mr. D. E. Hawks, of Charlemont, cut a Pine tree a short time since, of the following dimensions. It was 7 feet [2.1 m] through 10 feet [3.0 m] from the stump, and 5 feet [1.5 m] through 50 feet [15 m] from the stump. Twenty-two logs were taken from the tree, the average length of which were 12 feet [3.7 m]. Fourteen feet [4.3 m] of the tree were spoiled in falling. The extreme length of the tree from the stump to the top twigs was 300 feet (91 m)] ---- Greenfield Gazette." In 1995 Robert Leverett and Will Blozan measured the Boogerman Pine, a white pine in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, at a height of 207 feet in 1995 using ground-based cross triangulation methods. This the highest accurate measurement obtained for any tree in the eastern United States within modern times. The top of the tree was lost in Hurricane Opal in 1995 and it currently stands at just under 190 feet [58 m] in height. It is possible that some white pines in the past reached heights of well over 200 feet [61 m] given the much larger area of primary forest prior to the timber boom in the 1800s, however, based on what grows today, it is highly unlikely they ever reached the heights in some of these historical accounts. These reported heights are likely just a mixture of personal and commercial bravado by the lumbermen of the time.

Sign in to keep reading

6 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Plants