living stumps?

saw a photo of a tree stump that had "grown over" with bark and was still living, supported by its neighbors through their underground web of roots and fungi, which i thought was neat

about to move to a space that has a recently cut stump (sawdust still on the ground, guessing it's been less than a year but more than a couple months), curious if there's anything i can do to help it survive as a stump

found this article about living kaori tree stumps in particular, but is it a common/general/real thing in yall's experience? anyone created or cared for one before? are some kinds of trees more friendly to the idea than others?

i'm just curious all about living stumps


---
edit: thanks to the "other threads like your post" thing, i found this interesting thread about planting a tree next to a stump, which is a good idea i hadn't considered...

I have no experience trying to keep a stump alive, but The Hidden Life of Trees tells of stumps kept alive by their neighbors. The book left me with the impression it would only happen in a mature forest.

Wonder what tree species do it? Any coppiceable species (most of the broadleaves) can survive being cut, but I suppose they'd grow new shoots rather than remaining stumps...

The tree species might be a big determining factor as I remember cedar and pine might not revive as well as a deciduous tree.  

We have had mimosa trees and mesquite trees that grew from stumps.

They may or may not be a pretty tree.

It sounds interesting, if nothing else. I'm not sure WHY you want to do this though?

Anne Miller wrote:The tree species might be a big determining factor as I remember cedar and pine might not revive as well as a deciduous tree.  

We have had mimosa trees and mesquite trees that grew from stumps.

They may or may not be a pretty tree.

Anne, here in the PNW there's a difference between a tree which will re-sprout from a stump, and what we call a "living stump" which is where bark grows over the top of the stump. These latter stumps have no "leaves" of their own, but their root systems are intact and continue to support and be supported by the surrounding forest ecosystem. I suspect in my area of summer droughts, these living stumps likely have roots into something the forest likes/needs like water, which makes it worth maintaining the relationship and feeding the stump whatever it needs to keep those roots healthy.

I personally believe there is a much greater degree of "cooperative living" happening in eco-systems than the "survival of the fittest" attitude we've been fed. Just ask the local mushrooms.

Thanks, Jay, that is an interesting concept that I have never heard of.  That helps explain what the OP is trying to find out.

"Living stumps" is helpful.

I love learning about new things and I bet that is something that doesn't happen in the desert.  I can imagine that happen in a forest that is rather damp though has droughts.

Michael Cox wrote:It sounds interesting, if nothing else. I'm not sure WHY you want to do this though?

oh i just thought it would be pleasing to have a living stump to sit on, and to be able to point at tangible evidence of that lovely "cooperative living" Jay's talking about

also seems good not to waste that valuable root/fungi system -- if the living stump doesn't pan out i think i'll plant a new tree one foot over

part of me was hoping there might be some natural magic like "spread yogurt on the stump and bark will grow over!" -- but after reading through yall's responses (thank you!), it makes so much more sense to think about the essential circumstances to support a tree that can't photosynthesize for itself:
* is there a reliable surplus of water?
* are there enough non-stump trees nearby?

i think there's enough water around, but my stump is separated from mature forest by about 100' of grass, which seems too far... buuut that forest is in almost all directions (it's kinda at the middle of a clearing), maybe if lots of trees reach out to connect?

probably not, i'm thinking -- unless the stump starts barking soon i'll go with plan plant-a-new-tree

super interesting learning about living stumps, tho! hoping to meet one eventually.

Jay Angler wrote:I suspect in my area of summer droughts, these living stumps likely have roots into something the forest likes/needs like water, which makes it worth maintaining the relationship and feeding the stump whatever it needs to keep those roots healthy.

i think i was skimming too much, because i missed this point on my first read -- that's an interesting way to think about it

now imagining what my stump might have to offer for the other trees (edit: and fungi) forest to consider it worth maintaining...

kc abram wrote:

also seems good not to waste that valuable root/fungi system -- if the living stump doesn't pan out i think i'll plant a new tree one foot over  

I know that trees in my forest harvest from dead stumps by sending rootlets into the decaying wood.

Nature's use of dead stumps and logs as "Nurse logs" to start new trees is also well known and easy to observe in my area.

Many people think of "dead wood" in a negative way, when to a forest, it is a valuable resource. We just have to be careful that it's in good contact with the forest floor and not too much of it, or it can become a fire hazard. This is why it's great to bury it in a Hugel bed - increases the ability of plants/microbes/insects to use the resource, without increasing fire risk.

So kc, that's another option, you could build a "mini-hugel" using the stump as a core if it doesn't heal over.