Update on the Oak of Kvill

Maarten Windemuller has sent me some more photos of the Rumskulla Oak, including a couple from 1926 that give a good idea of the oak's decline in its latter years.They were published in the 1926-1927 yearbook of the Nature Conservation Society in Skåne (Naturskyddsföreningen i Skåne).

1926: a full crown...

...and a circumference at breast height of 13.36 m

He also shared some photos from 2008 that show the oaks surroundings:

The Kvill Oak in July 2008. Photo: © Maarten Windemuller

The Kvill Oak in July 2008. Photo: © Maarten Windemuller

By 2012, die-back is evident in the north-west branch of the crown:

July 2012. Photo: © Maarten Windemuller

July 2012. Photo: © Maarten Windemuller

Maarten also alerted me to the fact that in the summer of 2013 the metal bands holding the oak together were replaced by cables, and that photos of the operation had been posted on the Facebook page of the Swedish Arborist Association. Here are two photos showing the cable. I will be contacting the professionals involved in the work to see if more photos and info are available. Watch this space.

The new cable on the Kvill Oak.

The new cable holding the oak together, and the deep groove left by the metal band it replaced.