How old do beeches get?
A beech tree is no more than 320 years old. The average age of beeches is 150 years, because most trees are cut beforehand in order to use the wood.
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How can the age of beeches be determined?
The age of a beech tree is determined from two dates, namely the Trunk circumference and the location. In the case of very old beech trees, there is a third point, namely the historical tradition.
- Trunk circumference
- Location
- historical tradition
The trunk circumference is measured at a height of about one meter and recorded in centimeters. A beech tree with a trunk circumference of 100 centimeters is estimated to be around 55 years old. At 150 centimeters, the beech is around 80 years old.
If you want to calculate the age of a beech yourself, measure the trunk circumference and multiply it by 0.6. You will get an even more precise result if you measure the trunk circumference twice, at one and at a height of 1.50 meters. The mean value is formed from both measurements.
The oldest beeches in Germany
Probably one of the oldest and largest beeches Germany is the Bavariabuche that is near Pondorf. Their age is estimated to be 200 to 320 years. The giant beech near Oberbach is roughly the same age in Bavaria. In Baden-Württemberg, the double beech is estimated to be 200 to 320 years old in the town of Utzenfeld.
Most of the old beeches, which are also called thick beeches because of their trunk size, are in Baden-Württemberg, followed by Bavaria. In the northern regions of Germany beeches are popular because of the less favorable climate and the often sandy Soil mostly not that old.
Tips
The importance of the beech in Germany is also shown by the fact that many places are named after the tree. There are around 1,500 localities whose names go back to the word beech.
