Local Tree Ordinances: Protecting Our Urban Canopy
Trees. They shade our streets, clean our air, and provide a haven for wildlife right in our backyards. But in the bustling environment of a city, these silent guardians often need a voice, a layer of protection against the pressures of development and human activity. That voice comes in the form of local tree ordinances.
These municipal regulations, varying from town to town, are the backbone of urban forestry management. They establish the rules of engagement when it comes to planting, maintaining, and removing trees on both public and, in some cases, private property. Think of them as a set of guidelines designed to ensure a healthy and vibrant urban forest for generations to come.
One key aspect of many local tree ordinances is the establishment of tree protection orders. These orders can apply to specific trees, groups of trees, or even entire wooded areas deemed significant for their historical, ecological, or aesthetic value. A protected tree isn't necessarily untouchable, but removing or significantly altering it usually requires a permit and often involves demonstrating a compelling reason, such as a demonstrable safety hazard.
Beyond protection orders, these ordinances often dictate standards for planting new trees. They might specify suitable species for a particular location, required distances from buildings and utilities, or even minimum sizes for planting stock. This ensures that new trees have the best chance of survival and contribute positively to the urban canopy.
The specifics of these ordinances can be quite granular. Some might regulate pruning practices, while others address issues like preventing damage to tree roots during construction. Enforcement mechanisms, such as fines for violations, also vary. It's essential for homeowners, developers, and anyone working with trees to understand the specific regulations in their locality. Ignorance of the law is no excuse when it comes to protecting our urban forests.
Ultimately, local tree ordinances are about more than just individual trees. They're about preserving the collective benefits that trees provide: cleaner air and water, reduced urban heat island effect, improved property values, and a more beautiful and livable environment for everyone. By understanding and respecting these regulations, we can all play a part in ensuring that our urban forests continue to thrive.
Tree Protection Orders (TPOs) are a vital tool used by local authorities to safeguard valuable trees within their communities. Think of them as a legal safety net, preventing indiscriminate removal or damaging works to trees that contribute significantly to the local environment. Navigating these regulations can seem daunting, but understanding the core principles makes the process much clearer.
TPOs are established through local ordinances, which are specific regulations set by the governing body of a city, county, or municipality. These ordinances detail the criteria for protecting a tree, such as its species, size, age, historical significance, or contribution to the landscape. A tree deemed worthy of protection is then placed under a TPO, which effectively restricts what can be done to it. This usually means you can't fell, lop, top, uproot, or wilfully damage the tree without first obtaining permission.
The permitting process is key to working with TPOs. If you need to carry out work on a protected tree, you must apply to the local authority for permission. This application typically requires detailed information about the proposed work, including the reasons for it, the methods to be used, and any potential impact on the tree's health and stability. An arborist report, prepared by a qualified tree professional, is often required to support the application. This report assesses the tree's condition, the necessity of the proposed work, and recommends appropriate measures to minimize harm.
The local authority will then assess the application, considering factors such as the tree's overall value, the potential impact of the proposed work, and any potential alternatives. If the work is deemed necessary and unlikely to significantly harm the tree, permission may be granted, often with specific conditions attached. These conditions might include restrictions on the timing of the work, specific pruning techniques, or requirements for post-work tree care.
Failure to comply with TPOs and obtain the necessary permits can result in substantial penalties, including fines and legal action. Therefore, it's crucial to check with your local authority before undertaking any work on trees, especially if you suspect they might be protected. By understanding the regulations and engaging with the permitting process, you can contribute to the preservation of valuable trees in your community.
Chopping down a tree might seem simple, but it's often more complicated than just grabbing a chainsaw. Most communities have rules about tree removal, and navigating these regulations can feel like wandering through a dense forest of permits and procedures. These regulations exist to protect our urban canopy, recognizing the vital role trees play in everything from air quality and stormwater management to property values and our overall well-being.
So, what do you need to know before you fell that tree? The first step is understanding your local ordinances. These are rules specific to your city or town that outline what trees you can remove and when. Some ordinances might require permits for removing trees of a certain size or species, especially those considered "heritage" or "significant" trees. Others might restrict removal during nesting season to protect birds and other wildlife. Check your local government's website or contact your city's planning or arboriculture department for the specifics in your area. Ignoring these rules can lead to hefty fines, so it's crucial to do your homework.
Beyond local ordinances, your property might also be subject to tree protection orders. These orders can be put in place for individual trees, groups of trees, or even entire wooded areas, often because of their historical significance, ecological value, or contribution to the landscape. These orders can significantly restrict what you can do with trees on your property, even if they're technically within your property lines. Again, contacting your local authorities is the best way to determine if any such orders apply to your trees.
The permitting process itself usually involves submitting an application, often with a detailed description of the tree, the reasons for removal, and any proposed replacement plantings. You might also need to provide supporting documentation, such as arborist reports detailing the tree's health or potential hazards. The approval process can take time, so be prepared to wait. Don't start swinging that axe until you have the necessary permits in hand.
While navigating these regulations might seem like a hassle, they ultimately serve a valuable purpose. Trees are a precious resource, and these permitting processes help ensure their responsible management for the benefit of our communities and future generations. So, before you remove a tree, remember to check your local rules – it's worth the effort to stay on the right side of the law and contribute to a healthier, greener environment.
Chopping down a tree might seem like a simple act, but it can actually land you in some serious hot water if you're not following the rules. We're not just talking about a slap on the wrist either; illegal tree removal can lead to some hefty fines and even legal action. Why so serious? Well, trees play a vital role in our environment, providing everything from clean air and shade to preventing erosion and supporting wildlife. Local governments recognize this importance and have put regulations in place to protect them.
These regulations can take many forms, from local ordinances that dictate which trees can be removed and when, to specific tree protection orders that safeguard particularly significant trees or wooded areas. Ignoring these rules can trigger a cascade of consequences. The most common penalty is a fine, which can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands, depending on the severity of the violation and the local laws. Some areas even impose fines based on the size or species of the tree removed, making the removal of a mature oak significantly more costly than taking down a small sapling.
Beyond fines, you could face legal action, especially if the illegal removal caused damage to public property or neighboring land. This might involve being sued for the cost of replacing the tree or restoring the damaged area. In some cases, repeat offenders or those who intentionally flout the rules could even face criminal charges.
But it's not just about the financial and legal ramifications. Illegal tree removal can also damage your reputation within the community. Trees often contribute to the aesthetic value of a neighborhood, and their unauthorized removal can upset neighbors and lead to strained relationships.
So, before you grab that chainsaw, it's crucial to do your homework. Contact your local government or urban forestry department to understand the specific regulations in your area. They can tell you about any permits required, protected species, or restrictions on tree removal. Taking the time to understand and follow the rules isn't just about avoiding penalties; it's about being a responsible member of your community and protecting the trees that make our environment a better place.
Arboriculture (/ˈɑËÂÂrbÉ™rɪˌkÊŒltʃər, É‘ËÂÂrˈbÉâ€ÂËÂÂr-/)[1] is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environment. The practice of arboriculture includes cultural techniques such as selection, planting, training, fertilization, pest and pathogen control, pruning, shaping, and removal.
A person who practices or studies arboriculture can be termed an arborist or an arboriculturist. A tree surgeon is more typically someone who is trained in the physical maintenance and manipulation of trees and therefore more a part of the arboriculture process rather than an arborist. Risk management, legal issues, and aesthetic considerations have come to play prominent roles in the practice of arboriculture. Businesses often need to hire arboriculturists to complete "tree hazard surveys" and generally manage the trees on-site to fulfill occupational safety and health obligations.[citation needed]
Arboriculture is primarily focused on individual woody plants and trees maintained for permanent landscape and amenity purposes, usually in gardens, parks or other populated settings, by arborists, for the enjoyment, protection, and benefit of people.[citation needed]
Arboricultural matters are also considered to be within the practice of urban forestry yet the clear and separate divisions are not distinct or discreet.[citation needed]
Tree benefits are the economic, ecological, social and aesthetic use, function purpose, or services of a tree (or group of trees), in its situational context in the landscape.
A tree defect is any feature, condition, or deformity of a tree that indicates weak structure or instability that could contribute to tree failure.
Common types of tree defects:
Codominant stems: two or more stems that grow upward from a single point of origin and compete with one another.
Included bark: bark is incorporated in the joint between two limbs, creating a weak attachment
Dead, diseased, or broken branches:
Cracks
Cavity and hollows: sunken or open areas wherein a tree has suffered injury followed by decay. Further indications include: fungal fruiting structures, insect or animal nests.
Lean: a lean of more than 40% from vertical presents a risk of tree failure
Taper: change in diameter over the length of trunks branches and roots
Epicormic branches (water sprouts in canopy or suckers from root system): often grow in response to major damage or excessive pruning
Roots:
Proper tree installation ensures the long-term viability of the tree and reduces the risk of tree failure.
Quality nursery stock must be used. There must be no visible damage or sign of disease. Ideally the tree should have good crown structure. A healthy root ball should not have circling roots and new fibrous roots should be present at the soil perimeter. Girdling or circling roots should be pruned out. Excess soil above the root flare should be removed immediately, since it presents a risk of disease ingress into the trunk.
Appropriate time of year to plant: generally fall or early spring in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.
Planting hole: the planting hole should be 3 times the width of the root ball. The hole should be dug deep enough that when the root ball is placed on the substrate, the root flare is 3–5cm above the surrounding soil grade. If soil is left against the trunk, it may lead to bark, cambium and wood decay. Angular sides to the planting hole will encourage roots to grow radially from the trunk, rather than circling the planting hole. In urban settings, soil preparation may include the use of:
Tree wells: a zone of mulch can be installed around the tree trunk to: limit root zone competition (from turf or weeds), reduce soil compaction, improve soil structure, conserve moisture, and keep lawn equipment at a distance. No more than 5–10cm of mulch should be used to avoid suffocating the roots. Mulch must be kept approximately 20cm from the trunk to avoid burying the root flare. With city trees additional tree well preparation includes:
Tree grates/grill and frames: limit compaction on root zone and mechanical damage to roots and trunk
Root barriers: forces roots to grow down under surface asphalt/concrete/pavers to limit infrastructure damage from roots
Staking: newly planted, immature trees should be staked for one growing season to allow for the root system to establish. Staking for longer than one season should only be considered in situations where the root system has failed to establish sufficient structural support. Guy wires can be used for larger, newly planted trees. Care must be used to avoid stem girdling from the support system ties.
Irrigation: irrigation infrastructure may be installed to ensure a regular water supply throughout the lifetime of the tree. Wicking beds are an underground reservoir from which water is wicked into soil. Watering bags may be temporarily installed around tree stakes to provide water until the root system becomes established. Permeable paving allows for water infiltration in paved urban settings, such as parks and walkways.
Within the United Kingdom trees are considered as a material consideration within the town planning system and may be conserved as amenity landscape[2] features.
The role of the Arborist or Local Government Arboricultural Officer is likely to have a great effect on such matters. Identification of trees of high quality which may have extensive longevity is a key element in the preservation of trees.
Urban and rural trees may benefit from statutory protection under the Town and Country Planning[3] system. Such protection can result in the conservation and improvement of the urban forest as well as rural settlements.
Historically the profession divides into the operational and professional areas. These might be further subdivided into the private and public sectors. The profession is broadly considered as having one trade body known as the Arboricultural Association, although the Institute of Chartered Foresters offers a route for professional recognition and chartered arboriculturist status.
The qualifications associated with the industry range from vocational to Doctorate. Arboriculture is a comparatively young industry.
Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots.
The practice entails the targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted plant material from crop and landscape plants. In general, the smaller the branch that is cut, the easier it is for a woody plant to compartmentalize the wound and thus limit the potential for pathogen intrusion and decay. It is therefore preferable to make any necessary formative structural pruning cuts to young plants, rather than removing large, poorly placed branches from mature plants.
Woody plants may undergo a process referred to as "self-pruning", where they will drop twigs or branches which are no longer producing more energy than they require. It is theorized that this process can also occur in response to lack of water, in order to reduce the surface area where water can be lost.[1] This natural shedding of branches is called cladoptosis.
Specialized pruning practices may be applied to certain plants, such as roses, fruit trees, and grapevines. Different pruning techniques may be used on herbaceous plants than those used on perennial woody plants.
Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping (by controlling or redirecting growth), improving or sustaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for transplanting, and both harvesting and increasing the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.
Branch wood is an individual stem that grows off of another stem.
Trunk wood is the main stem of a tree which individual stems grow out of.
This refers to the area below the union of where branch wood attaches with the trunk/stem wood. This can often appear raised.
This refers to the junction between branch wood and trunk/stem wood. It usually looks raised. [2]
Pruning in an urban setting is crucial due to the tree being in drastically different conditions than where it naturally grows.[3]
Arborists, orchardists, and gardeners use various garden tools and tree cutting tools designed for the purpose, such as secateurs, loppers, handsaws, or chainsaws.[4] Additionally in forestry, pole pruners (averruncators in British English) and pole saws are commonly used, and these are often attached to poles that reach up to 5–6 m (16–20 ft). This is a more efficient and safer way of pruning than with ladders. These bush saws on polls have also been motorized as chainsaws which is even more efficient. Older technology used Billhooks, Kaiser blades, and pruning knives. Although still used in some coppicing, they are not used so much in commercial forestry due to the difficulty of cutting flush with the stem. Flush cuts happen when a pruner cuts into the cambium layer of the main trunk, which can happen when a pruner is not precise with pruning cuts, and removes a portion of the branch collar, which can put the tree at risk of entry cords from forest pathogens.
Although there are several different types of pruning, they can be simplified into two categories. One of which is cutting the branch back to a specific and intermediate point, called a "reduction cut", and the other of which is completely removing a branch back to the union where the branch connects which the main trunk, called "removal cut".[5]
A "reduction cut" is when one removes a portion of a growing stem down to a set of desirable buds or side-branching stems. This is commonly performed in well trained plants for a variety of reasons, for example to stimulate growth of flowers, fruit or branches, as a preventive measure to wind and snow damage on long stems and branches, and finally to encourage growth of the stems in a desirable direction.
In orchards, fruit trees are often lopped to encourage regrowth and to maintain a smaller tree for ease of picking fruit. The pruning regime in orchards is more planned, and the productivity of each tree is an important factor.
Branches die off for a number of reasons including sunlight deficiency, pest and disease damage, and root structure damage. A dead branch will at some point decay back to the parent stem and fall off. This is normally a slow process but can be hastened by high winds or extreme temperatures. The main reason deadwooding is performed is safety. Situations that usually demand removal of deadwood include trees that overhang public roads, houses, public areas, power lines, telephone cables and gardens. Trees located in wooded areas are usually assessed as lower risk but assessments consider the number of visitors. Trees adjacent to footpaths and access roads are often considered for deadwood removal.[8]
Another reason for deadwooding is amenity value, i.e. a tree with a large amount of deadwood throughout the crown will look more aesthetically pleasing with the deadwood removed. The physical practice of deadwooding can be carried out most of the year though should be avoided when the tree is coming into leaf. The deadwooding process speeds up the tree's natural abscission process. It also reduces unwanted weight and wind resistance and can help overall balance.
Preventative and structural pruning can be done to mitigate several issues young trees may have in the future. The structural pruning can reduce tree stress, increase the lifespan of trees, and promotes resistance to damage due to natural weather events. Attributes of trees with good structure include excurrent growth by having a single dominant leader, branch unions without included bark, and a balanced canopy. Structural pruning does this by developing or maintaining a dominant leader, identify the lowest branches in the canopy, prevent branches below the permanent canopy from growing too large, keeping all branches less than one half the trunk diameter, space main branches along one dominant trunk, and suppress growth on branches with included bark. [9]
Subordination pruning is done on limbs that will exceed 50% percent of the stem diameter. A reduction cut may be performed while still allowing about 50% of the branch. This is done to help maintain form and deter the formation of co-dominant leaders. Temporary branches may be too large for a removal cut so subordination pruning should be done to slowly reduce a limb by 50% each year to allow the tree to properly heal from the cut. As a tree becomes larger the slower it grows. Reducing the larger limbs for eventual removal will allow for the tree to promote new growth rather than using energy in encouraging unwanted limbs to continue to grow. Removing a large branch increases the likelihood of the cut to not heal properly which also may attract insects, diseases and fungus. [9][10]
Crown thinning is the removal of live healthy branches which increases light penetration, air circulation and reduces wind resistance which reduces risks from damage and the possibility of pest infestation. [11]
Crown raising involves the removal of the lower branches to a given height. The height is achieved by the removal of whole branches or removing the parts of branches which extend below the desired height. The branches are normally not lifted to more than one third of the tree's total height.
Crown lifting is done for access; these being pedestrian, vehicle or space for buildings and street furniture. Lifting the crown will allow traffic and pedestrians to pass underneath safely. This pruning technique is usually used in the urban environment as it is for public safety and aesthetics rather than tree form and timber value.
Crown lifting introduces light to the lower part of the trunk; this, in some species can encourage epicormic growth from dormant buds. To reduce this sometimes smaller branches are left on the lower part of the trunk. Excessive removal of the lower branches can displace the canopy weight, this will make the tree top heavy, therefore adding stress to the tree. When a branch is removed from the trunk, it creates a large wound. This wound is susceptible to disease and decay, and could lead to reduced trunk stability. Therefore, much time and consideration must be taken when choosing the height the crown is to be lifted to.
This would be an inappropriate operation if the tree species’ form was of a shrubby nature. This would therefore remove most of the foliage and would also largely unbalance the tree. This procedure should not be carried out if the tree is in decline, poor health or dead, dying or dangerous (DDD) as the operation will remove some of the photosynthetic area the tree uses. This will increase the decline rate of the tree and could lead to death.
If the tree is of great importance to an area or town, (i.e. veteran or ancient) then an alternative solution to crown lifting would be to move the target or object so it is not in range. For example, diverting a footpath around a tree's drip line so the crown lift is not needed. Another solution would be to prop up or cable-brace the low hanging branch. This is a non-invasive solution which in some situations may be more economical and environmentally friendly. [12]
Selectively pruning a window of view in a tree.
Reducing the height and or spread of a tree by selectively cutting back to smaller branches and in fruit trees for increasing of light interception and enhancing fruit quality.
A regular form of pruning where certain deciduous species are pruned back to pollard heads every year in the dormant period. This practice is usually commenced on juvenile trees so they can adapt to the harshness of the practice. This practice can be used for tree shaping but is also used in specific species which young branches can be sold for floral arrangements.
Deadheading is the act of removing spent flowers or flowerheads for aesthetics, to prolong bloom for up to several weeks or promote rebloom, or to prevent seeding.
In general, pruning deadwood and small branches can be done at any time of year. Depending on the species, many temperate plants can be pruned either during dormancy in winter, or, for species where winter frost can harm a recently pruned plant, after flowering is completed. In the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere autumn pruning should be avoided, as the spores of disease and decay fungi are abundant at this time of year.
Some woody plants tend to bleed profusely from cuts, such as mesquite and maple. Some callus over slowly, such as magnolia. In this case, they are better pruned during active growth when they can more readily heal. Woody plants that flower early in the season, on spurs that form on wood that has matured the year before, such as apples, should be pruned right after flowering as later pruning will sacrifice flowers the following season. Forsythia, azaleas and lilacs all fall into this category.