‘Often in our articles, we use the terms “Arboriculture” and “Urban Forestry”. What is the difference?

Arboriculture is the science of care for an individual tree.  It is the focus, action plan and engagements to nurture and, if needed, repair that tree for better vitality and longevity.  If there are 5 trees in the yard, 100 trees in a park, or 20 trees in a parking lot, the arboricultural focus and science is still caring for one tree at a time.

Urban Forestry is what its name implies: in man-made settings and sites, the“community of trees” is the focus.  It is a management practice which usually doesn’t engage single trees.  Often, the term “canopy’ is applied in urban forestry.  Just as in a natural woodlands, one can see nearly contiguous leaf coverage, i.e. the canopy, in many urban environments.  One primary goal of UF is growing the canopy to cover the streets, parking lots and plazas.

Arboriculture spends a lot of time dealing with what the needs of the tree: massaging the givens that exist to make the tree more viable.  There are times where an arborist will ask, “Is this investment viable?  Is there good ROI for this tree and its owner?” Most times, however, an arborist will work to save each tree at all cost.

Urban Forestry spends a lot more time in planning, evaluating and assessing the needs of the sites and then establishing trees and tree management to work around and within the site’s limits.  Urban Foresters are tasked with balancing the needs of the trees with the planned use and development of the site- the trees are not the primary consideration.

While both arborists and urban foresters talk of “right tree, right place”, arborists have a much broader tolerance for the tree’s long-term future – and often the budget per tree is more expansive.  Urban Foresters have shorter time frames, tighter windows and usually few tree choices to fit the demanding sites.  Most UF’ers also have constricted budgets, so their per-tree cost must be controlled.

Arborists believe and act on the premise that all trees can have generational values, i.e. 50 years + on site.  Many of the sites with which Urban Foresters work actually prohibit longevity and so they plan for a rate of attrition which will prescribe the removal and replacement of trees routinely.  Often for every one hundred trees planted in an urban forestry project, or for every thousand trees in a city-scape, less than 50% will be still viable in 25 years.  Few will every become 50 years old.

As consultants, we practice in both arenas.  Goals statements are therefore critical for the proper plan and to achieve the desired outcomes.  Nearly every day, TreeMasters serves clients as tree management specialists, as tree evaluators, as tree doctors, and sometimes tree morticians!
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You can contact us any time to talk about your trees or your site.

“For every tree killed by a bug, 10 more are killed by people.”
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If you spend time with arborists, you’re likely to hear some version of this phrase repeated, just based on their experience.  When Jeff mentioned it to me, I had a hard time believing it, so I asked him to give me some examples of the ‘wrongs’ he’s seen.

So.  What should you do to give your tree the best chance of long-term vitality?  Choose the right tree for Northern Indiana.  Make sure that it has plenty of space to “branch out” and plan for root expansion.  Dig a hole bigger than you’d think you need and fill with good soil.  Avoiding Jeff’s list of ‘wrongs’ will help your trees have a happy, healthy life so that you can enjoy them for decades to come!
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You can read some tree suggestions and other factors to consider here.

Multi-stemmed and low-crotched trees, too, always widen as they grow.  Birch, Hawthorns, Crabapples and Magnolias are several common landscape trees where corrective pruning will be required if planted too close to structures and passageways.

Top pruning is required when trees grow upon to wires, rooflines or block views.

Shade density is often a characteristic where corrective pruning is sought; however, this seldom can be done to the satisfaction of situation and without harm to the tree’s future.  Concurrently, topping trees can never be justified.  It is not corrective pruning; it is “tree butchery”, with only negative consequences to follow.

Fighting genetic shape and density in trees is possible with trained and knowledgeable hands, but far too often, well meaning but unskilled pruners make matters worse and shorten the life of the tree.  Therefore, contacting a skilled arborist is necessary to protect your trees and your living spaces.

I asked Jeff what his definition of the differences are, and his answer was considerably shorter!

In short, Arborists have more training and are more rigorously tested.  They are assessed regularly and are required to maintain their certification with ongoing training.  Choosing an Arborist means you're getting better quality service!
Here at TreeMasters, our resident Tree Doctor, Jeff, is a registered consulting Arborist!  When you work with TreeMasters, you know that you're getting the best advice and the best tree-care.  We're making a better future for YOUR trees!

If you've been following along with the blog lately, you'll remember that we've been running a series on extreme soils.  Here is what we've established so far:

1.)  Water-logged soils inhibit root respiration in low oxygenated/anaerobic soils, increase nutrient dilution and can kill micro-flora and fauna.

2.)  Soil temperatures over 90°F will kill roots! Dead roots kill trees.
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3.)  Desiccated (extremely dry) soils will kill roots.  Again, dead roots kill trees.

Today, we want to discuss the idea of tree engineering.  Even though we don't tend to think of trees as engineered structures, they are!  Just like any other structure, healthy trees use good materials arranged in a way that utilizes strength and flexibility to create the best advantage.  In fact, wood probably has some of the best engineering properties available.  It's both strong and flexible, it's light and yet tough.  Trees have to be able to able to stand up all day long (and all night, too!); they have to bend without breaking in severe wind and storms.  A tree must be strong, but not brittle; it can't shatter if it's damaged.  A tree has to do all of those things and not buckle under its own weight.  What human-engineered structure can do all of those things as successfully as a tree?  Buildings that come close attempt to follow a tree's example.

The interior of a tree is composed of tiny cells and tubes which form the tree's transport system.  Tubes called "xylem" bring water and nutrients up from the roots. Tubes called "phloem" bring sugar (energy) and oxygen from the leaves down through the tree.   In fact, about 90% of the tree's structure is composed of these tubes.  The xylem and phloem also help contribute to the strength of the tree because they run in the same direction as the tree's fibers.

So:  Trees are wood structures which are built of tubes.  In this process there is flux and responses depending on conditions.  Drought is most often seen as an agent of wilting, or “burnt leaves”.  Concerning the structural risks caused by drought,  Wilt shows that the plant is not manufacturing sugars.  There is no transport up the xylem, and therefore there is no transport down the phloem.  Leaves don't get the water they need to produce sugar; roots do not get the sugar and oxygen they need to live.  So in dry periods, roots die due both to direct desiccation and starvation.

While there are natural annual ebbs and flows in root growth, a summer like ours is catastrophic for the root mass of trees and shrubs.  This lost mass will impact the next year’s growth, but it can create near-term hazards if the tree is already weak, or had roots cut by construction.  Often, when evergreens “flip” out of the ground, it is due to loss of root mass.  The tops are the same size, but the “anchor” has become much smaller, and the ‘release”.

Diminished water stops the formation of wood in the tops of trees, too.  Branches may have enough strength to grow leaves and twigs, but not the additional wood in the limbs.  It there are wounds, rots or hollows, the tree can not add enough wood to balance the additional growth at the ends and the branches will break.  Likewise, leader wood and trunk can be compromised in the short- and long-term by lack of water.

As with most situations in horticulture, the axiom, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is descriptive and directive of the drought scenario in the landscape.  Proper care will produce vigorous plant can fight off environmental effects and not just survive, but thrive.  Because a tree can look healthy but be structurally unstable, it is necessary to contact an arborist to have a structural assessment done.  On healthy trees, this could be done as infrequently as once every 5-7 years.  Trees that are currently undergoing care should have regular assessments included in their care plans.
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Do you have questions?  You can leave it in the comments or contact us!

A pivotal part of our mission here at TreeMasters is the evaluation of trees “in trouble”.  It’s our job to assist the tree’s owners as they come to decisions about a tree’s future and any investments that need to be made to improve its health or longterm viablity.  Hundreds of times each season, we inspect trees and render opinions as to the future of a tree and the potential costs associated with the tree’s preservation (or removal).

Trees are “bimodal” organisms:  they are botanical and they are structural.  And so that means that there are two avenues for tree evaluation.

The botanical aspects of the tree are the ‘living’ components of the organism; they are its future.  Leaves, sapwood, bark and roots of all sizes are both conductive of the tree’s life and descriptive of its experience.  Trees can be “read” just like a book… what we see tells us its story.

For most people, the “green” part of the tree is desired and most easily observed.  We pay attention to the leaves; we monitor their colors, and notice them when they change or drop off. But there is so much more we can learn and interpret from the leaves.  If a branch or section of the plant loses leaves, it may be a warning, a sign of negative actions on or in the tree.

Trees are first and foremost energy systems.  They function as energy collectors, manufacturing centers, and carbon storage units.  Here is where the “green” functions.  Limits in any form compromise the manufacture of sugars and hormones and thus the vigor and future of the tree.

The structure of a tree is the historical record of its growth and its vitality (as evidenced by its manufacture of wood).  The wood is engineered both by its genetics and its site dynamics.  The wood of a tree is the result of the tree’s botanical actions: it records the history of the tree and the site’s effects upon it.  The formation of wood also sets the foundation for the future of the tree.

As trees grow they create a “body language”.  A tree grows in response to its environment and things happening to the tree. Effects on a tree are frozen in the wood – here a trained eye can read the past and project the future.

Failure of the wood structure can have grave consequences, given that most trees have tons of wood in the air.  We often assume risks for trees “breaking up” without thought.  We see the wood but it doesn’t register until something breaks off.

A tree’s failure is an engineering failure, the same as any structure.  The failure may be induced by weather or trauma, but it is based upon the building of the tree in the past and the attacks it has received from insects, disease and environmental impacts.
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It’s obvious that taking care of our trees today will result in strong and healthy trees in the years to come.

A pivotal part of our mission here at TreeMasters is the evaluation of trees “in trouble”.  It’s our job to assist the tree’s owners as they come to decisions about a tree’s future and any investments that need to be made to improve its health or longterm viablity.  Hundreds of times each season, we inspect trees and render opinions as to the future of a tree and the potential costs associated with the tree’s preservation (or removal).
Trees are “bimodal” organisms:  they are botanical and they are structural.  And so that means that there are two avenues for tree evaluation.
The botanical aspects of the tree are the ‘living’ components of the organism; they are its future.  Leaves, sapwood, bark and roots of all sizes are both conductive of the tree’s life and descriptive of its experience.  Trees can be “read” just like a book… what we see tells us its story.
For most people, the “green” part of the tree is desired and most easily observed.  We pay attention to the leaves; we monitor their colors, and notice them when they change or drop off. But there is so much more we can learn and interpret from the leaves.  If a branch or section of the plant loses leaves, it may be a warning, a sign of negative actions on or in the tree.
Trees are first and foremost energy systems.  They function as energy collectors, manufacturing centers, and carbon storage units.  Here is where the “green” functions.  Limits in any form compromise the manufacture of sugars and hormones and thus the vigor and future of the tree.
The structure of a tree is the historical record of its growth and its vitality (as evidenced by its manufacture of wood).  The wood is engineered both by its genetics and its site dynamics.  The wood of a tree is the result of the tree’s botanical actions: it records the history of the tree and the site’s effects upon it.  The formation of wood also sets the foundation for the future of the tree.
As trees grow they create a “body language”.  A tree grows in response to its environment and things happening to the tree. Effects on a tree are frozen in the wood – here a trained eye can read the past and project the future.
Failure of the wood structure can have grave consequences, given that most trees have tons of wood in the air.  We often assume risks for trees “breaking up” without thought.  We see the wood but it doesn’t register until something breaks off.
A tree’s failure is an engineering failure, the same as any structure.  The failure may be induced by weather or trauma, but it is based upon the building of the tree in the past and the attacks it has received from insects, disease and environmental impacts.
It’s obvious that taking care of our trees today will result in strong and healthy trees in the years to come.