Two University of Life Sciences bachelor's students have found Estonia's tallest known white birch, speckled alder, common alder and common ash in Tartu County's Järvselja Training and Experimental Forest Center.
The students, Triin Alatalo and Koit Viliberg, included their findings in a joint thesis on Järvselja's tall trees and their habitats, the university said in a statement.
The tallest known tree in Estonia is an earlier-measured, 230-year-old Scots pine that reaches 46.6 meters in height and 67 centimeters in diameter. The new thesis now reveals the country's tallest known white birch (27.6 meters in height, 54 centimeters in diameter), speckled alder (31 meters in height, 32 centimeters in diameter), common alder (33.3 meters in height, 63 centimeters in diameter) and common ash (35.2 meters in height, 60.5 centimeters in diameter). All are growing within Järvselja.
The students were studying why so many of the nation's tallest trees were found in the area, and pointed to the fact that many of them were located near drainage ditches as a possible reason.
Järvselja forest center management has installed signs to allow the public to find some of the large trees, while others are located in virgin forests and remain off-limits to the public.
Robin Ilves
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