Supporting failure? Damage inflicted to establishing trees in London by a range of tree support and protection systems

ABSTRACT

Urban foresters employ a diverse range of different tree support and protection systems (TSPS) to help trees establish in the urban environment; however, in some cases, TSPS can cause damage to their host trees. A survey was undertaken of 762 establishing trees across 14 London boroughs to determine which types of TSPS are in current use, to assess how different systems perform and to record the frequency and severity of damage to trees associated with these different types and configurations of TSPS. We found that TSPS-associated damage was highly prevalent within the sampled population, affecting 34.8% of the trees surveyed. Failure to remove TSPS components after the establishment phase was responsible for more than 80% of the cases of severe damage to trees found by this survey. A comparison between the performance of several TSPS configurations in terms of their effectiveness and association with different TSPS damage types identified that the “two posts and ties” system performed consistently well in comparison with all other TSPS assessed. Other damage related to the use of protective structures and rubber spacers. We conclude that simple changes to current tree planting practice would minimise the impact of TSPS-associated damage in our urban forests.

KEYWORDS:

• Tree establishment
• tree planting
• tree protection
• tree support
• urban forestry

Acknowledgments

Our thanks go to Olivia Dryden who assisted with initial data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Harry Thacker

Harry Thacker is a graduate of the MSc in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry at Myerscough College, England, and currently works for Trees for Cities, a registered charity.

Jaime Martin

Jaime Martin is a senior lecturer in the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences at Nottingham Trent University.

Duncan Slater

Duncan Slater MArborA MICFor is a senior lecturer in arboriculture at Myerscough College, England. He is a current candidate for a Masters in Education at the University of Central Lancashire and course tutor for the MSc in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry.