Protecting Trees During Construction

Douglas L. Airhart & Guy Zimmerman III

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Right Tree / Right Place

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[ What Will Damage Trees? ] [ Protecting Trees During Construction ] [ Tree Decline Symptoms ]

Protecting Trees- Introduction:

Trees are important to your landscape, but simple actions can damage their health and life-time. The most common damage to trees occurs in three ways:

damage to the roots,

damage to the stems, and

damage to the branches.

Damage to the roots is worst, because it affects the whole tree.

(Figure 9-1) How a Tree Grows.

Note the lower diagram shows actual healthy root growth and spread.

From Working with Builders to Save Trees, Dennis Ryan et al.,2002

Most people do not know that the root zone of a tree is the area under the branches to the drip-line plus the area farther out about one-and-a-half to two times the distance of the drip-line (Ryan, et al., 2002).

Other experts indicate root spread may extend as far as two to three times the distance of the drip line (Appleton et al., 2000).

(Figure 9-2) Example of Mature Root Growth & Spread.

Roots grow all year long, and require air to survive. For example, roots do not grow deep into the soil in middle Tennessee, because air cannot penetrate much more that a foot or so deep in our clay soils.

(Figure 9-3) Roots Growing at Shallow Depths in Clay Soils.

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Purpose Right Tree / Right Place Selecting Trees Transplanting Trees Mulching & Staking Summary Diagram Pruning Trees Topping Hurts! Protecting Trees Tree Root Myths Pine Bark Beetles Live Christmas Trees Glossary List of Figures List of Video Vignettes Related Links Bibliography

TLCforTrees.info is maintained by: Douglas Airhart, Ph.D. Certified Arborist & Jeff Plant, Ph.D, Last Updated on: 07/11/03