Briars and Ivy taking over Ireland

How have the trees adapted? Sure wildlife have adapted to take advantage of Ivy, but how have the trees adapted, is there any evidence of this? Or what about any of the low growing species that dont get established now due to floors of ground ivy?

So can a nuclear bomb, but we are talking about ivy and briars, so I dont understand why you are fixated on Ash and Ash dieback tbh.

I know what evolution is, I am asking for examples of the ways Irish trees have evolved (and also why they needed to, since many are adamant that ivy causes no issues?)

Also, what are the natural predators to ivy in Ireland that don't exist in the US?

I would argue that winter storms are stronger with more wind than any typical Irish summer storm is.

The only trees I saw secumb to windthrow were either poorly adapted spruce or ash in full leaf hit by a late summer storm - and it was their own leaves which were the cause. Those same trees survived much heavier winter storm with a full growth of ivy but no leaves.

So post in or create an "Ash dieback" thread?

How did you determine that their own leaves were the cause?

I don't believe there is anyway to determine that, I have had trees survive what I would consider strong winds only to lose a limb in much more benign conditions.

"OK, so explain how, in your picture, the Ivy in the middle of the tree somehow isnt shading the entire right hand side of the tree when the sun is coming in the from the left? I think you are assuming, incorrectly, that the sun in Ireland is directly overhead."

The green line is where the leaves will be. The leaves of the tree on the right will block light reaching the left, and vice versa. Anyway, its an irrelevant argument, as photosynthesis doesn't always require direct sunlight.

The same reason Grey Squirrels are a pest here and not in their native lands in the US

Ahh come on. You cant seriously be expecting us to ignore the density of the ivy compared to that of the leaves of the tree?

Its also interesting that your green line doesnt extend to both side of the tree, for example the left side that is pretty much 100% ivy?

Photosynthesis increases as sunlight increases, just because you dont need direct light to start photosynthesis doesnt mean you dont get more with more sunlight.

"the same way" isnt an explanation though. Please answer the question I asked. What do Irish trees do differently to US trees that makes ivy a problem over there vs over here.

It should be a trivial question to answer since you are all so sure that ivy has no negative impact to trees….

While I might see some logic in removing ivy from a tree, I can't see where the hatred about briars is coming from. They provide cover and food for animals and birds.

Think this is simply wanting everything to look like a sterile manicured garden, which isn't what nature is about at all.

As @emaherx correctly pointed out to me in the past, what I was calling briars are in fact brambles. Briars are commonly called dog roses around here.

I'm going to leave it at this, as this is just going around in circles. These are pics of a tree on our land, two pics taken from google street view, the first one in October, and the second one the following August.
As you can see on the pic on the left, the core of the tree is covered in Ivy, but there is no Ivy on the new growth, where the leaves had grown, even though Ivy grows faster than the tree.
When the leaves bloom, they are situated towards the extremities of the tree, and not in the core where Ivy grows. Its the leaves that obstruct light to the Ivy, not the other way around.

It was posted earlier. It starts off stating it's not that harmful and then explains why it is.

Along with the rather bizarre statement that the presence of Ivy on a tree may be a sign of ill health.

birds feeding like mad on the Ivy berries round here at the moment.

It may shorten the life of a tree by a bit, but we need to remember trees have a finite life anyway. And along the way ivy supports a multitude of biodiversity that a tree without doesn’t. Live and let live, we’re all just passing through.

Those in favour of leaving the ivy alone, whats going to stop it from covering every tree, hedge and wall in your opinion? What controls the growth of ivy?

Great space for nature there, you won't hear any birdsong where you have box hedgerows.

I think the above series of photos is a great example, what happens when there are no cattle or they have no access to the ivy to keep it in check?

I'm still waiting for an explanation of how Irish trees have evolved to handle ivy yet trees in the US haven't…