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Recognizing Tree Hazards

Trees provide significant benefits to our homes and cities, but when trees fall and injure people or damage property, they are liabilities. Taking care of tree hazards makes your property safer and prolongs the life of the tree.

Trees are an important part of our world. They offer a wide range of benefits to the environment and provide tremendous beauty.

However, trees may be dangerous. Trees or parts of trees may fall and cause injury to people or damage to property. We call trees in such situations hazardous, to signify the risk involved with their presence. While every tree has the potential to fall, only a small number actually hit something or someone.

It is an owner’s responsibility to provide for the safety of trees on his or her property. This brochure provides some tips for identifying the common defects associated with tree hazards. However, evaluating the seriousness of these defects is best done by a professional arborist. Regular tree care will help identify hazardous trees and the risk they present. Once the hazard is recognized, steps may be taken to reduce the likelihood of the tree falling and injuring someone.

Hazardous Trees and Utility Lines

Trees that fall into utility lines have additional serious consequences. Not only can they injure people or property near the line, but hitting a line may cause power outages, surges, fires, and other damage. Downed lines still conducting electricity are especially dangerous. A tree with a potential to fall into a utility line is a very serious situation.

Tree Hazard Checklist

Consider these questions:

• Are there large dead branches in the tree?
• Are there detached branches hanging in the tree?
• Does the tree have cavities or rotten wood along the trunk or in major branches?
• Are mushrooms present at the base of the tree?
• Are there cracks or splits in the trunk or where branches are attached?
• Have any branches fallen from the tree?
• Have adjacent trees fallen over or died?
• Has the trunk developed a strong lean?
• Do many of the major branches arise from one point on the trunk?
• Have the roots been broken off, injured, or damaged by lowering the soil level, installing pavement, repairing sidewalks, or digging trenches?
• Has the site recently been changed by construction, raising the soil level, or installing lawns?
• Have the leaves prematurely developed an unusual color or size?
• Have trees in adjacent wooded areas been removed?
• Has the tree been topped or otherwise heavily pruned?

Defects in Urban Trees

The following are defects or signs of possible defects in urban trees (see figure):

1. regrowth from topping, line clearance, or other pruning
2. electrical line adjacent to tree
3. broken or partially attached branch
4. open cavity in trunk or branch
5. dead or dying branches
6. branches arising from a single point on the trunk
7. decay and rot present in old wounds
8. recent change in grade or soil level, or other construction

Defects in Rural Trees

The following are defects or signs of possible defects in rural trees (see figure):

1. recent site construction, grading and tree removal, clearing of forests for development
2. previous tree failures in the local area
3. tree leaning near a target
4. forked trunk; branches and stems equal in size
5. wet areas with shallow soil

Managing Tree Hazards

An arborist can help you manage the trees on your property and can provide treatments that may help make your tree safer, reducing the risk associated with hazardous trees. An arborist familiar with hazard tree evaluation may suggest one or more of the following:

• Remove the target. While a home or a nearby power line cannot be moved, it is possible to move picnic tables, cars, landscape features, or other possible targets to prevent them from being hit by a falling tree.
• Prune the tree. Remove the defective branches of the tree. Because inappropriate pruning may weaken a tree, pruning work is best done by an ISA Certified Arborist.
• Cable and brace the tree. Provide physical support for weak branches and stems to increase their strength and stability.
• Provide routine care. Mature trees need routine care in the form of water, fertilizer (in some cases), mulch, and pruning as dictated by the season and their structure.
• Remove the tree. Some hazardous trees are best removed. If possible, plant a new tree in an appropriate place as a replacement.

Recognizing and reducing tree hazards not only increases the safety of your property and that of your neighbors but also improve the tree’s health and may increase its longevity!

Avoiding Tree Damage During Construction

As cities and suburbs expand, wooded lands are being developed into commercial and residential sites. Homes are constructed in the midst of trees to take advantage of the aesthetic and environmental value of the wooded lots. Wooded properties can be worth as much as 20 percent more than those without trees, and people value the opportunity to live among trees.

Unfortunately, the processes involved with construction can be deadly to nearby trees. Unless the damage is extreme, the trees may not die immediately but could decline over several years. With this delay in symptom development, you may not associate the loss of the tree with the construction.

It is possible to preserve trees on building sites if the right measures are taken. The most important step is to hire a professional arborist during the planning stage. An arborist can help you decide which trees can be saved and can work with the builder to protect the trees throughout each construction phase.

How Trees Are Damaged During Construction

Physical Injury to Trunk and Crown. Construction equipment can injure the aboveground portion of a tree by breaking branches, tearing the bark, and wounding the trunk. These injuries are permanent and, if extensive, can be fatal.

Cutting of Roots. The digging and trenching that are necessary to construct a house and install underground utilities will likely sever a portion of the roots of many trees in the area. It is easy to appreciate the potential for damage if you understand where roots grow. The roots of a tree are found mostly in the upper 6 to 12 inches of the soil. In a mature tree, the roots extend far from the trunk. In fact, roots typically are found growing a distance of one to three times the height of the tree. The amount of damage a tree can suffer from root loss depends, in part, on how close to the tree the cut is made. Severing one major root can cause the loss of 5 to 20 percent of the root system.

Another problem that may result from root loss caused by digging and trenching is that the potential for the trees to fall over is increased. The roots play a critical role in anchoring a tree. If the major support roots are cut on one side of a tree, the tree may fall or blow over.

Less damage is done to tree roots if utilities are tunneled under a tree rather than across the roots.

Soil Compaction. An ideal soil for root growth and development is about 50 percent pore space. These pores—the spaces between soil particles—are filled with water and air. The heavy equipment used in construction com-pacts the soil and can dramatically reduce the amount of pore space. This compaction not only inhibits root growth and penetration but also decreases oxygen in the soil that is essential to the growth and function of the roots.

Smothering Roots by Adding Soil. Most people are surprised to learn that 90 percent of the fine roots that absorb water and minerals are in the upper 6 to 12 inches of soil. Roots require space, air, and water. Roots grow best where these requirements are met, which is usually near the soil surface. Piling soil over the root system or increasing the grade smothers the roots. It takes only a few inches of added soil to kill a sensitive mature tree.

Exposure to the Elements. Trees in a forest grow as a community, protecting each other from the elements. The trees grow tall, with long, straight trunks and high canopies. Removing neighboring trees or opening the shared canopies of trees during construction exposes the remaining trees to sunlight and wind. The higher levels of sunlight may cause sunscald on the trunks and branches. Also, the remaining trees are more prone to breaking from wind or ice loading.

Getting Advice

Hire a professional arborist in the early planning stage. Many of the trees on your property may be saved if the proper steps are taken. Allow the arborist to meet with you and your building contractor. Your arborist can assess the trees on your property, determine which are healthy and structurally sound, and suggest measures to preserve and protect them.

One of the first decisions is determining which trees are to be preserved and which should be removed. You must consider the species, size, maturity, location, and condition of each tree. The largest, most mature trees are not always the best choices to preserve. Younger, more vigorous trees usually can survive and adapt to the stresses of construction better. Try to maintain diversity of species and ages. Your arborist can advise you about which trees are more sensitive to compaction, grade changes, and root damage.

Planning

Your arborist and builder should work together in planning the construction. The builder may need to be educated regarding the value of the trees on your property and the importance of saving them. Few builders are aware of the way trees’ roots grow and what must be done to protect them.

Sometimes small changes in the placement or design of your house can make a great difference in whether a critical tree will survive. An alternative plan may be more friendly to the root system. For example, bridging over the roots may substitute for a conventional walkway. Because trenching near a tree for utility installation can be damaging, tunneling under the root system may be a good option.

Erecting Barriers

Because our ability to repair construction damage to trees is limited, it is vital that trees be protected from injury. The single most important action you can take is to set up construction fences around all of the trees that are to remain. The fences should be placed as far out from the trunks of the trees as possible. As a general guideline, allow 1 foot of space from the trunk for each inch of trunk diameter. The intent is not merely to protect the aboveground portions of the trees but also the root systems. Remember that the root systems extend much farther than the drip lines of the trees.

Instruct construction personnel to keep the fenced area clear of building materials, waste, and excess soil. No digging, trenching, or other soil disturbance should be allowed in the fenced area.

Protective fences should be erected as far out from the trunks as possible in order to protect the root system.

Limiting Access

If at all possible, it is best to allow only one access route on and off the property. All contractors must be instructed where they are permitted to drive and park their vehicles. Often this same access drive can later serve as the route for utility wires, water lines, or the driveway.

Specify storage areas for equipment, soil, and construction materials. Limit areas for burning (if permitted), cement wash-out pits, and construction work zones. These areas should be away from protected trees.

Specifications

Get it in writing. All of the measures intended to protect your trees must be written into the construction specifications. The written specifications should detail exactly what can and cannot be done to and around the trees. Each subcontractor must be made aware of the barriers, limitations, and specified work zones. It is a good idea to post signs as a reminder.

Fines and penalties for violations should be built into the specifications. Not too surprisingly, subcontractors are much more likely to adhere to the tree preservation clauses if their profit is at stake. The severity of the fines should be proportional to the potential damage to the trees and should increase for multiple infractions.

Maintaining Good Communications

It is important to work together as a team. You may share clear objectives with your arborist and your builder, but one subcontractor can destroy your prudent efforts. Construction damage to trees is often irreversible.

Visit the site at least once a day if possible. Your vigilance will pay off as workers learn to take your wishes seriously. Take photos at every stage of construction. If any infraction of the specifications does occur, it will be important to prove liability.

Final Stages

It is not unusual to go to great lengths to preserve trees during construction, only to have them injured during landscaping. Installing irrigation systems and rototilling planting beds are two ways the root systems of trees can be damaged. Remember also that small increases in grade (as little as 2 to 6 inches) that place additional soil over the roots can be devastating to your trees. Careful planning and communicating with landscape designers and contractors is just as important as avoiding tree damage during construction.

Post-Construction Tree Maintenance

Your trees will require several years to adjust to the injury and environmental changes that occur during construction. Stressed trees are more prone to health problems such as disease and insect infestations. Talk to your arborist about continued maintenance for your trees. Continue to monitor your trees, and have them periodically evaluated for declining health or safety hazards.

This information provided by:ISA

The International Society of Arboriculture

www.isa-arbor.com