Ulten ancient larches
The Ulten original larches are three European larches that can be found near St. Gertraud in the South Tyrolean Ulten Valley . They are known for their old age, which is estimated at 850 years.
location
The ancient larches are located a little east of the village center of St. Gertraud on the shady side of the inner Ulten Valley. They are part of a protective forest in the area of the Ausserlahn-Höfe and represent the last remains of an originally larger group of monumental larches, of which around half a dozen natural events or felling fell victim in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The primeval larches stand at about 1430 m above sea level at the transition from forest to meadow area.
Age
In 1930 a storm knocked down a specimen of the larch group. During subsequent examinations by citizens of Ulten, according to the information provided by the local doctor at the time, Dr. Pardeller measured a trunk circumference of 7.8 m and counted 2200 annual rings . This is why the three larches that were still standing were ascribed to such an advanced age for a long time.
In the context of a diploma thesis accepted in 2004, Birgit Lösch from the University of Innsbruck tried for the first time a scientific age determination. Since stem rot prevented the number of annual rings from being counted, the age of the tree had to be approximately determined by using various calculation methods to estimate the missing number of annual rings. The results of the investigation made an age of about 850 years likely. The three primeval larches should have germinated around the year 1150 .
description
The three larches are arranged roughly in a triangle on the mountainside. The tallest larch (lower left when viewed from below) is 36.5 m high, has a trunk circumference of 7 m and a top that has withered away from a lightning strike . The (lower right) larch, the thickest with a trunk circumference of 8.34 m, is almost the same height at 34.5 m and has also lost its top. It has a large growth on the trunk. The third (upper) larch has a large trunk cavity and burst at a height of 6 m; Since then, a side branch has taken on the role of the leading drive, which has grown to a height of 22.5 m.
Man and larch
The larches were originally popularly known as bat larch because their tree hollows were inhabited by bats. The name Urlärchen is more recent. In 1979 the trees were designated as natural monuments and subsequently stabilized by steel cables and undercuts. In 2002, to protect the larches, the direct surroundings were redesigned with paths and fences.
literature
- Birgit Lösch: Influence of climate and larch moth infestation on the radial growth of larches (Larix decidua Mill.) At the tree line in Ulten and determining the age of the “Ulten ancient larches” . Diploma thesis, Innsbruck 2004
- Birgit Lösch, Walter Oberhuber: The age of the “Ulten ancient larches” and the larches above the Pichl-Alm in the Klapfberg . In: Der Schlern , 79, 2005, pp. 26–37
- Valentin Lobis: The ancient larches in Ultental . In: Der Schlern , 76, 2002, pp. 4–11
- Martin Schweiggl: Natural monument ancient larches . In: Der Schlern , 76, 2002, p. 11
- Martin Schweiggl: Ultner Urlärchen - Larici millenari . Office for Landscape Ecology, Bozen 2003
Web links
- Data sheet of the natural monument at the South Tyrolean provincial administration
Coordinates: 46 ° 29 ′ 29.2 ″ N , 10 ° 53 ′ 34.2 ″ E