Tree Protection - Printable Outline

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1. Tree Protection

LHAP 305 D. Ballard 2025

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

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

Course visual for What is Tree Protection?

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

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

Course visual for Wellnitz Tree Care. (n.d.). Construction Damage. Wellnitz Tree Care. Retrieved September 11, 2025

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)

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

8. CRZ Example

If the DBH of a tree is 26 inches, what would the CRZ be based on our formula?

What if the DBH is 68 cm?
If the circumference of a tree was 80 inches
If the circumference of a tree was 205 cm

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

10. City of Edmonton

City of Edmonton. (n.d.). Build Your Own Tree Protection Plan. City of Edmonton. Retrieved Sept 11, 2025,

City of Edmonton

11. City of Calgary

City of Calgary. (n.d.). Protecting trees during construction and development. The City of Calgary. Retrieved September 11, 2025

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

Course visual for Soil and Root Protection

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

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,

Course visual for Trunk and Canopy Protection

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.

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/

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