For thousands of years people have been removing trees from their natural environment and placing them in urban settings. These street trees are very important and play many roles. Urban trees do many things for us. They provide shade for pedestrians, parked cars, and homes. These trees are very important wind breakers and also have been integrated into the storm water management plan. Finally one another main reason we have street trees is to add aesthetics and beauty to the urban environment. Having beautiful trees in your yard can increase the value of your home substantially. In order for our urban trees to grow and fulfill our expectations of them, they must be properly cared for. There are many things in the urban environment that are currently putting these trees at risk. And most of these things can be corrected and avoided in the future.
Let’s start at the roots and work our way up to discover how we can better help these majestic plants. Most tree problems occur in the roots. This is mainly result of being overlooked. Urban soils are often compacted, have a highly basic pH, and lack many essential nutrients. The urban environment is full of impermeable surfaces such as sidewalks, roads, and buildings. All of these things limit the health and vigor of trees. In the future, we should plan for trees by using floating sidewalks and less sensitive tree species to be planted by our roads.
The trunks of street trees are where a lot of problems occur and become noticed. Here it is hard to find a tree that doesn’t have some sort of decayed wood or included bark. Most of the damage done to trees in this area is a result of construction damage, weed whips, chaining bikes to trees, and other human inflicted wounds. Tree trunks can be preserved by using an environmentally friendly weed-whip protective sleeve and by encouraging proper treatment of these tree specimens. People need to stop chaining bikes and hanging garage sale signs from trees- the result is a weaker and more stressed tree that will not grow as vigorous or live as long.
The canopy or crown of street trees are frequently appreciated and admired for their aesthetic beauty. This is the part of the tree that most people notice as they are passing through a town or out walking the family dog. Many street trees that have some abnormality in the crown of the tree are called in to a city forester to be taken care of. The problem with entering a tree and removing limbs and defects is that many don’t know the proper way to prune a tree. The science of keeping a tree in good condition is an art that is constantly changing. The best way to ensure an urban tree will be correctly pruned and cared for is by hiring certified arborists with multiple years of experience. Certified arborists are passionate about their job, safe, and good at what they do. So, save our street trees. Set them free and let a professional help guide them to a long and beautiful life!
2 comments:
I definately enjoy having trees in urban environments. They improve the overall quality of life in urban areas because of all the reasons you stated. Urban trees do present many challenges. There is a constant struggle between having natural vegetation in urban settings and the basic facilities/services in urban areas. (streets, powerlines, sewers etc.) Trees in an urban environment are a very expensive commodity. It is very important that we have well trained professionals to maintain them and keep them in balance with everythiing else within the urban environment. I also belive that a little bit of eduacation for the general public on proper maintenance of their trees would go a long way in this issue.
udI do wish that more people would understand the value that is associated with these street trees. I agree with you on that additional knowlege on tree care should be provided by city foresters and other concerned people.
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