Tree Protection

Slide 1 Tree Protection LHAP 305 D. Ballard 2025 Slide 2 What will we cover What is tree protection? Tree stress from site disturbances Excavation techniques to protect trees Critical root zones Tree protection zones Soil and Root Protection Trunk and Canopy protection Bardekjian, A., & Puric -Mladenovic, D. (2025). Tree Protection During Construction and Conflict with Building Foundations. Tree Canada. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 3 What is Tree Protection? Tree protection is exactly how it sounds - Doing what we can to prevent damage to any part of a tree in a landscape. Joe. (2019, July 7). Construction and Trees — Joe's Complete Tree Service. Joe's Complete Tree Service. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Joe. (2019, July 7). Construction and Trees — Joe's Complete Tree Service. Joe's Complete Tree Service. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 4 Tree Stress What does tree stress look like? Soils Roots Trunk Canopy Leaves Air pollution Susceptibility to pests and diseases Generated under Olds College Adobe Firefly license Slide 5 Wellnitz Tree Care. (n.d.). Construction Damage. Wellnitz Tree Care. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Wellnitz Tree Care. (n.d.). Construction Damage. Wellnitz Tree Care. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Jake. (n.d.). Construction and Trees. Trees by Jake. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025 Accurate Leak and Line. (n.d.). How to Get Rid of Roots in Sewer Line - Accurate Leak & Line. Accurate Leak and Line. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 6 Proper Excavation Techniques Tunneling instead of trenching Trenching involved digging down to a depth from the surface, potentially digging into the trees roots Air Spading Using compressed air to dig down, allowing removal of soil with minimal root damage Hydro-Vac Using water and suction to suck out the soil with minimal damage to roots. Hand tools Using shovels instead of machines Class discussion - Why do you think companies would not want to do excavation this way? See AirSpade 5000 Series in Action Save Trees with Hydrovac & Ground Penetrating Radar(Live Oak Tree Roots) Slide 7 Critical Root Zone The area around a tree that contains the minimum amount of roots that are essential to the trees health and stability. Although there is no standardized way to calculate CRZ, a typical calculation would be DBH (In inches) x 1.5 = CRZ (in feet) The zone is usually not a perfect circle, need to be aware of other factors that would increase or decrease root density Tree Shepherds Tree Experts. (2024, Oct 08). What is the Critical Root Zone of a Tree? Tree Shepherds. Retrieved Nov 06, 2025 Slide 8 CRZ Example If the DBH of a tree is 26 inches, what would the CRZ be based on our formula? 2. What if the DBH is 68 cm? 3. If the circumference of a tree was 80 inches 4. If the circumference of a tree was 205 cm Slide 9 Tree Protection Zone The area around trees where activity and accessibility is limited to protect the tree and the soil and area around it. It aims to protect the soil, the tree and as many roots as possible during construction. Municipalities, Counties, organizations and tree professionals will all have their own requirements for tree protection zones. This will all be included in the tree protection plan of the project Spengler, T. (2023, February 15). Tree Protection During Construction: Tips On Protecting Trees In Construction Zones. Gardening Know How. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 10 City of Edmonton. (n.d.). Build Your Own Tree Protection Plan. City of Edmonton. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025, City of Edmonton Slide 11 City of Calgary City of Calgary. (n.d.). Protecting trees during construction and development. The City of Calgary. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 12 Soil and Root Protection Tree protection bylaws Barriers surrounding the tree protection zone based on the projects tree protection plan Limiting access through the worksite Thick layers of mulch inside and outside of tree protection zones Rig mats Plywood over a mulch layer (20-30 cm) Manufactured tree root protection Watering during construction Use a combination of these to make provide even more protection. McInerney, B. (2025, April 15). Tree Protection Zone TPZ - What, Why and Best Practices. Go Tree Quotes. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Geotexan. (n.d.). Tree Root Protection. Geotexan. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025 Slide 13 Soil and Root Protection Grade Changes Changing the soil grades around trees can cause compaction, change the water flow, damage roots. Tree island - If grading needs to be lowered. Tree Wells - If grading needs to be raised. Airhart, D., & Zimmerman, G. (2003, July 11). Protecting Trees. Tennessee Tech University. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Starbuck, C. J. (2017, September 27). Preventing Construction Damage to Trees | MU Extension. MU Extension. Retrieved September 11, 2025 Slide 14 Trunk and Canopy Protection Build and maintain the barriers. Build the barrier to go beyond the drip line. Pruning. Don’t pile items around the tree. Independent Tree. (2020, Mar 23). How to Protect Trees During Construction. Independent Tree. Retrieved Nov 06, 2025, Slide 15 Communication and Documentation All these protective measures will only work if all parties understand the terms and follow the requirements in the tree protection plan. Include: Tree location and species Tree protection zones and methods of protection Designated areas for storage of material Designated vehicle and machinery routes Tree maintenance before, during, and after construction. Contact info for the person responsible for enforcing the tree protection plan All the requirements should be clearly stated in the contract and all parties involved must understand and follow them. Slide 16 Bibliography Accurate Leak and Line. (n.d.). How to Get Rid of Roots in Sewer Line - Accurate Leak & Line. Accurate Leak and Line. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.accurateleak.com/blog/roots-in-sewer-line/ Airhart, D., & Zimmerman, G. (2003, July 11). Protecting Trees. Tennessee Tech University. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www2.tntech.edu/tlcfortrees/protecting_trees_duning_construction.htm AirSpade. (2023, June 29). YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xhGqqMb1iE Bardekjian, A., & Puric -Mladenovic, D. (2025). Tree Protection During Construction and Conflict with Building Foundations. Tree Canada. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://treecanada.ca/urban-forestry-guide/tree-protection-during-construction-and-conflict-with-building-foundations/ City of Calgary. (n.d.). Protecting trees during construction and development. The City of Calgary. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.calgary.ca/development/tree-protection-plans.html City of Edmonton. (n.d.). Build Your Own Tree Protection Plan. City of Edmonton. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025, from https://www.edmonton.ca/sites/default/files/public-files/Tree-Protection-Plan-Template.pdf?cb=1656618055 Geotexan. (n.d.). Tree Root Protection. Geotexan. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025, from https://geotexan.com/buildings/sustainable-porous-paving-tree-root-protection/tree-root-protection/ guide, s. (n.d.). Protecting trees during construction and development. The City of Calgary. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.calgary.ca/development/tree-protection-plans.html Independent Tree. (2020, Mar 23). How to Protect Trees During Construction. Independent Tree. Retrieved Nov 06, 2025, from https://www.independenttree.com/how-to-protect-trees-during-construction/ Jake. (n.d.). Construction and Trees. Trees by Jake. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025, from https://treesbyjake.com/construction-and-trees/ Joe. (2019, July 7). Construction and Trees — Joe's Complete Tree Service. Joe's Complete Tree Service. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://joescompletetreeservice.com/blog/construction-and-trees McInerney, B. (2025, April 15). Tree Protection Zone TPZ - What, Why and Best Practices. Go Tree Quotes. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.gotreequotes.com.au/tree-protection-zone/ Moore, S. (2023, May 12). Save Trees with Hydrovac & Ground Penetrating Radar(Live Oak Tree Roots). YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgg9geqbg0 Photos Generated under Olds College Adobe Firefly license Spengler, T. (2023, February 15). Tree Protection During Construction: Tips On Protecting Trees In Construction Zones. Gardening Know How. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/tree-protection-in-work-zones.htm Starbuck, C. J. (2017, September 27). Preventing Construction Damage to Trees | MU Extension. MU Extension. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6885 Tree Shepherds Tree Experts. (2024, Oct 08). What is the Critical Root Zone of a Tree? Tree Shepherds. Retrieved Nov 06, 2025, from https://treeshepherds.net/what-is-the-critical-root-zone-of-a-tree/ Wellnitz Tree Care. (n.d.). Construction Damage. Wellnitz Tree Care. Retrieved September 11, 2025, from https://wellnitztreecare.com/construction-damage/