Girdling

Girdling, or ring barking, is the complete removal of a strip of bark from around the entire circumference of either a branch or trunk of a woody plant. Girdling results in the death of wood tissues above the damage. A branch completely girdled will fail and when the main trunk of a tree is girdled, the entire tree will die, if it cannot regrow from above to bridge the wound. Healing can only happen when the xylem is not cut into and damaged.

Commonly Girdling is caused by the choking of a branch by a wire or other material, most often in the stems of woody plants that have been tied to tightly to a stake or support.
Posted By Gremelin Posted on May 8th, 2014

Ring Barking

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