Calculating Tree Height

[Russ]

Hey, talked to a few arbourists (tree choppers/ trimmers) to top a bit off of our front tree as it almost went over the last windstorm. They wanted to know how high and I now know I dont have a wit about me for calculating how high.. I said about a hundred and I just calculated it about 59-60 feet. LOL.

  I took out my old telescope with the angling eye, measure 25 feet from the base of the tree, placed the very centre of the tripod with the telescope pivot on the 25 foot mark, and raised it until the top was in the centre of the viewing eyepiece...

  Used pythagorus and got 54 feet, five feet on top of that to the pivot and the tree is 59 feet.

 [TABLE cellPadding=5 align=middle border=5] [TBODY] [TR] [TD align=middle colSpan=2][img height=270 alt="" src="http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttri.gif" width=373 border=0][/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Side a[/TD] [TD][INPUT size=24 value=53.61 name=sidea] Units Of Length[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Side b[/TD] [TD][INPUT size=24 value=25 name=sideb] Units Of Length[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Side c[/TD] [TD][INPUT size=24 value=59.16 name=sidec] Units Of Length[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Angle A or B[/TD] [TD][INPUT size=24 value=65 name=anglx] Degrees[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Angle C[/TD] [TD][INPUT readOnly size=24 value=90 name=anglr] Degrees[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Angle 3[/TD] [TD][INPUT readOnly size=24 value=25 name=angl3] Degrees[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]  

 I think I did this right... sound abouts how to do it?

[P.C.]

Ummm......of course.  [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c028.gif" border=0]

[Orca]

omg,

you gave us homework too??!!

  Teh Borken...

Russ is being smarty pants...

  tee hee,

sound correct! I am on my lunch break and have just used my brain to do online Sudoku...

     

 [TABLE width=538 border=0] [TBODY] [TR] [TD width=534] [P align=center][FONT face=Arial]h = height of survey observer (to eye level)
[/FONT]

[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD width=534]Above: Measuring the height of a mature tree.   Where a tree is too tall for its height to be measured directly, it can easily be calculated using simple trigonometry.  The survey recorder stands at a measured distance from the base of the tree (baseline B).  Using a hand-held device called a clinometer, he or she measures the angle in degrees between the horizontal, their eye and the top of the tree (the angle bpt = angle A).  Then, using tangent tables (obtained from trigonometrical tables or from a calculator) and the equation Height of Tree = h + B x tan(A), the survey recorder can calculate the height of the tree and record it in a table.[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]

  [A href="http://www.offwell.free-online.co.uk/wet_wood_survey_2001/images/height1.jpg[/img]http://www.offwell.free-online.co.uk/wet_wood_survey_2001/images/height1.jpg[/A]      

[purelife]

Uhmmm, okay.  I know how to calculate the age of a tree.  You count the rings.  hee hee... ok, I was being C H E E K Y.    

[purelife]

Uhm, could I calculate my height with those calculations?  

[Russ]

You should be able to calculate your height miss PL using that idea, but it would me pretty difficult. It would be easier IMO to just take the tape measure you would be using to measure how far out your angle is going to be and measure directly how high you are... but you can do it whichever way you like... So how high ARE you? wink wink, nudge nudge.

    Thanks Orca! I guess I should have looked on google a little bit harder hmm? From that website which answers all my questions, tells me I did it the right way.

[purelife]

Tape measure?  You mean those long yellow thingys?

  I'm the same height as you, Russ.

[Russ]

Over 5' ?

  I take it we have had this discussion before? Sheesh. My brain is like a steel seive.      

[purelife]

Yup, near there.

[49er]

wow! Purelife you're an Amazon.

  Another method to get tree height.......take a picture of the tree with someone holding a 10 foot pole next to it.  Estimate height by comparing tree with pole........if tree is 5 times higher than its 50'.......only an estimate