Skip to main content

Table 1 Ecological data from UK and Scotland relating to tree taxa from case studies

From: Modelling medieval masonry construction: taxa-specific and habitat-contingent Bayesian techniques for the interpretation of radiocarbon data from Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels

Maximum lifespan

Taxa

Habit

Life cycle

Post-mortem resilience

Working IAÏ„

References

50 Years

Corylus avellana

Shrub

‘self-coppicing’ cycles of ≤ 30–50 year old stems in UK. ≤ 12–15 year old stems on some thin Scottish Atlantic soils

Not included in BSI standards

20 years

[30, 33]

100 Years

Betula pubescens

Shrub/Small Tree

Matures 50–60 with lifespan ≤ 100 years in UK. ‘Shortest- lived common tree [in UK] after Aspen.’

5—Not Durable. Dies rapidly and rots quickly. Life expectancy in ground contact ‘less than 5 years’

50 years

[30,31,32, 54, 57,58,59]

200 Years

Betula pendula

Tree

 ≤ 100 years in UK generally

 ≤ 180 years in Central Scotland

5—Not Durable. As per Betula pubescens

100 years

[30, 31, 54, 58, 60]

600 Years

Pinus sylvestris

Tree

Generally aged ≤ 300 years. Lifespan ≤ 550 years in NW Scotland

3–4 moderate-slightly durable

300 years

[54, 61, 62]

Quercus

robur and petraea

Tree

General ages ≤ 300 years in UK woodlands. Scottish medieval timber ≤ 418 years Darnaway (NE Scotland)

2—Durable. Sapwood ≤ 20 years, heartwood over 50 years

300 years

[30, 54, 63,64,65]a

  1. aSee [41] p. 130