Tree risk assessment Lighning struck trees

With February end of summer and the storm season a month for electrical storms and lightning strikes the question is can and do lightning struck trees survive and if so what can be done for them. Lightning strikes may kill trees outright or severely damaging branches or portions of the trunk (see photo) These wounds may be structurally damaging to the trees stability and also provide wounds open for insect and pathogen decay causing fungi attack. Lightning injury has immediate and long term symptom, an entire tree may burst into flame, branches and trunk maybe blown apart, sometimes leaving a spiral scar down the trunk and the internal tissues may be burnt without any outward signs disrupting the flow of valuable nutrients, water and sugar and starches, the severity of the injury is related to a direct strike the lightning intensity and the amount of water in the bark and the characteristics of the branch and tree. Symptoms could be die back of the foliage open wounds, bark shredding To determine the best response for you tree and to assess its structural integrity contact Fred Janes AQF level 5 at angophora Consulting Arborist for a tree risk and hazard assessment. For any or more information please contact me by phone, e-mail or leave a message on face book and I will contact you (If you do contact by Facebook please leave a Phone number and best time to call).

Land and environment Court Tree Disputes

Land and environment Court Tree Disputes 17 Jan 2-14 With the increasing pressure on our residential communities and land sizes becoming smaller due to larger homes been built or the properties sizes becoming smaller no longer the ¼ acre blocks. There are more changes that we will impact upon our amenity forest, when this occurs some of these conflicts are decided in the Land and Environment court. When considering if you need to resolve your tree issues the first step many people take is to consult their local councils and once this occurs councils ask for more supporting evidence, this evidence is normally by a consulting Arborist AQF Level 5 arborist. When you hire the consultant you should make sure they have the qualification you can ask to see their certificate and also ask what method will they use to assess the tree/s 2 of the preferred methods are international Arborist associations Tree risk Assessments qualifications (TRAQ) and QTRA the consultant should also have a minimum of 5 years’ experience. This is normally called a visible tree assessment and as the stated is only a visible assessment what can be seen form the ground, this is the minimum information you will need before going to the land and Environment court in most cases you will need more supporting evidence this could be an aerial assessment of major limbs and the canopy, a soil analysis and or identification of the type of decay white rot brown rot or soft rot and how these affect the trees structure you may also need to determine the trees internal structure how much solid timber is there by using a Picus Sonic tomography test/s or a resistograph test conducted. When deciding to continue your case the more information obtained to support the case the better and when you start the project inform your consultant so they can inform you what may be needed and a approximate cost for the project. The case will be decided on fact not on emotion because a tree is large and you fear it is no reason to remove the tree but if the trees is large leaning over your home with several defects in the trunk with brown rot with only 10% solid timber then this maybe a reason to remove the tree. Also the consultant is there for the tree and not the client An expert witness has an overriding duty to assist the court impartially on matters relevant to the expert witness’s area of expertise. When discussing issues with your consultant tell them all the information you have so they can decide on the best course of action and discuss with them that you are going to the Land and environment court to get a ruling Fred Janes arborist at Angophora Consulting Arborist is a level 5 arborist (AQF level 5) qualified in the latest techniques using the international Arborist associations Tree risk Assessments qualifications (TRAQ). Fred can provide professional advice

Tree hazard assessment

January is typically a month of storms and strong winds for this season and all should prepare yourself for the summer storms by having your trees checked out, by a Professional consulting arborist, although some failures are hard to judge, 90 % can be detected easily and action can be taken cheaply to resolve, it’s better than having your home or car damaged or worst still a love injured after a major failure. Prevention is better than cure when it comes to managing trees on your property. Having trees on your property comes with the commitment of maintaining them in a safe and healthy condition in our current times. Tree risk assessments and safety audits around homes, offices and work sites need to be conducted by a Professional Independent Arborist; who understands the risk that trees pose to residents and workers. An Arborist such as Fred Janes at Angophora Consulting Arborist is a level 5 arborist (AQF level 5) qualified in the latest techniques using the international Arborist associations Tree risk Assessments qualifications (TRAQ). Fred can provide professional advice on how to mitigate the risk and allay fears that you may have of your habitat tree/s.

Tree Health

Tree heath can be affected by many different diseases and insects most of these can relate to the condition of the soil, recently I was asked to investigate why the top of a Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood was dead after taking a sample of the soil and getting it diagnosed the soil was found to be very low in pH cation balance dominated by hydrogen leading to acidity (under 5) this was allowing the tree to absorb in a high amount of aluminum which common in most soils but which is toxic to plants> the effective cation exchange capacity was also very low, this means the tree nutrient retention and holding capacity was poor. The solution is quite simple all that needs to be done is too raise the pH to above 5.5 (6.5 is best for most trees and plants) to prevent the uptake of aluminum. During the hotter drier months trees can be put under stress, stress and ill health can be seen from the colour, density and size of the trees foliage. When we walk around our gardens and we see our trees foliage exhibiting any signs of deformity or loss contact Angophora Consulting Arborist for efficient accurate diagnosis of the problem/s and solution to remedy the tree so it can be retained for many years as good healthy amenity trees providing many benefits such as shade during the hot weather. (first photo a eucalyptus in ill health second tree also with die back at top and the final tree in good health plenty of foliage with good colour and density