UKC

Walked past a big old oak this afternoon and spotted a small alloy disc nailed to the trunk. Must have passed it dozens of times and not noticed it before. It has the numbers 3356 stamped on it and nothing else. I'd imagine it's some sort of ID but would anyone on here know what it means?

It will be an ID which will help the landowner undertake periodic safety inspections. That way if a branch falls off and injures someone they may have a defence to a claim or prosecution.

Ah, I never knew that.

For some reason I'd always thought these little plaques, which are often found on the largest trees, prominent places or country parks we an ID to show they were a protected tree.

I think it may denote a TPO - Tree Protection Order. 

That's possible but there didn't seem to be anything particularly remarkable about this tree. I should have added that it's beside a bridleway which runs through pastureland. It's not a busy route and it doesn't really overhang the track. There are lots of similar trees along my route by footpaths and none of them seem to have discs.

Yes, I was wondering if it was something to do with conservation.

Nah, just an id for the tree as part of a tree survey. 

As Rodger Martin said, identification for inspections. It's unlikely that a tree in open pasture land would have a TPO, they have a more urban application. All landowners have a responsibility to keep there trees in a safe condition, especially if they are in an area with public access, so accurate records of inspections and remedial work is essential. 

Tagging trees is a bit out dated now, although it works well on small plots. gps location and interactive maps are more usual now, especially for local authorities.

I got called in by the local Parks people for setting up a D-GPS so they could precicely locate individual trees - not just remarkable ones, any ones they had responsibility for.  I can easily imagine they'd tag the trees, too (I was just the techie, I didn't get to see the trees)

My guess is that it will be an ID tag as part of a tree survey to support a planning application

Isn't it a sad world when when we accept the idea of claim or presecution for something as natural as a tree falling

Not really. If you have a tree in your front garden which you neglect to take care of, it has the potential to kill someone if it falls over and lands on a car. Being responsible for something you own is not a travesty. 

Sadly, this ^^ 

They're all over near me, mainly on the Oaks, some Ash and Willow. But strangely none of the Silver Birch have them on. Is that because they're classed as a weed ??

We've got 3500 houses to look forward to. Good luck to the Trees.

We should accept that trees may fall or branches break off in high winds. The existence of the tree is important for all of us, ownership (and the responsibility attached to it) should be irrelevant.

There should be a difference between trees and man made structures. 10 years ago or so, back when we still had winters, a colleague was killed by ice fall from a four story house next to my university onto the pavement below. Of course, that roof should have been made safe, or cleaned.

CB