Services

This visit is an opportunity for the homeowner/tree manager to walk through your landscape with a Master/Consulting Arborist, to ask questions and discuss concerns around the property.

During these meetings, professional advice is given to help homeowners/managers make decisions on where to start to protect people, trees, and structures around the property. These meetings are concluded with a brief written summary of the visit along with any additional recommendations, these can lead to the need for a more complicated inspection, and documentation of the results.

Tree Management Plan

A tree management plan provides an inventory of tree(s) in a specific area that require mitigation as a result of observations made by the arborists, and requests by the client. It can be for one specific tree, a group of trees within a defined area, or an entire property. There can be several situations where a management plan can be needed to protect tree(s) and the land around them, these include: Large tree jobs, construction and landscape projects, site development and maintenance, and shoreland compliance.

Tree and landscape plans should provide defined goals, guidelines, and positive results. The report can include: A tree inventory for shoreland protection and waterfront compliance, tree risk and health assessment, landscape planning, and woodland restoration. While collecting and documenting their observations, the consulting arborist will perform a limited visual tree risk assessment. The arborist will also be inspecting for and documenting any plant health care issues, both biotic and abiotic. Any recommendations to mitigate these issues will be included in the plan. These plans can be scaled to match the project, it can range from a simple plan to a complete project report.

Arboricultural Consulting

Our consulting Arborists can provide many services to help the clients assess the health, safety, and value of their trees. The services we provide include Tree Risk Assessment, Tree Protection Plans, Tree Appraisal and Tree Forensic Investigation, see below for further description.

Quality of Service

Our consulting services cover the entire spectrum of arboriculture and any recommendations provided will comply with the ANSI A300 Tree Care Operations – Standard Practices and the ISA Best Management Practices. All reports are defined by the assignment presented and approved by the homeowner/tree manager and are prepared professionally by our ASCA registered consulting arborist to the highest standards. The estimated cost for these services is based on the time and equipment required to complete the assignment.

Our goal is to help you accomplish yours.

Arboricultural Consulting

Consulting Arborists can provide many services to help the clients assess the health, safety, and value of their trees. The services described below are the primary tools used by arborists to measure risk, protect important trees, appraise the value of a tree and provide accurate answers to our client’s questions.

Tree Risk Assessment

Trees provide people with many benefits from ecological and monetary to aesthetic and sociological, and these benefits increase with the age of the tree. It is important to remember that it is impossible to maintain trees free of risk; some levels of risk must be accepted to experience the benefits that trees provide. The primary goal of tree risk assessment is to provide information about the level of risk posed by a tree over a specific time frame. The ISA has developed a qualification program and provides guidelines for arborists to follow to assess tree risk as accurately and consistently as possible. It is up to the arborist to assess the risk and recommend measures that achieve an acceptable level of risk that meets the client’s standards.

Tree risk assessment can be performed at (3) different levels:

Level 1 Limited Visual Assessment – An assessment of an individual or population of trees near specified targets conducted from a specified perspective. This is performed to identify certain obvious defects or specified conditions. This can include safety, structural and health concerns. This is a part of every Tree Health and Safety (THS) report and the perspective is a 360-degree visual assessment of all trees within the specified area.

Level 2 Basic Assessment – A detailed visual inspection of a tree and its surrounding site. This is commonly performed by an arborist in response to a client’s request. It is ground-based and requires that the tree is completely inspected including the site, buttress roots, trunk, and branches of the tree. The tree is observed up close and at distances to consider the crown shape, surroundings, and potential targets. These inspections can include the use of simple tools such as diameter tape, clinometer, binocular, magnifying glass, mallet, probe small digging tools, compass, and camera. Often a basic assessment is adequate for assessing risk and making recommendations, but it can sometimes lead to the need for more advanced assessment measures.

Level 3 Advanced Assessment – These are performed to provide more detailed information about specific tree parts, defects, targets, or site conditions. These might be conducted in conjunction with a basic assessment if additional information is needed and the client approves of this service. Advanced assessment can include many techniques used to provide greater and more accurate details. These can include aerial inspection, detailed target analysis, detailed site evaluation, decay testing, health evaluation, root inspection and evaluation, storm/wind analysis, and measuring and assessing the change in trunk lean by load testing.

The scope of the work (Assignment) will be provided before the start of the project, this will include:

Identification of the tree(s) or area to be assessed.
The details of the assessment – what level and tools are recommended for an accurate inspection and evaluation.
The method of reporting – these can be provided verbally, written on an assessment form, or in a formal report. Written is recommended.
Timetable for the inspection and reporting – when the assessment will be performed and the report provided to the client.

The tree risk assessment process is:

The identification of potential targets.
The assessment of the site factors that contribute to or mitigate risk.
The evaluation of the structural or site conditions that may lead to failure and affect the likelihood of failure.
The likelihood that a tree or tree part could strike people, property or disrupt activity.
The evaluation of the target’s value and the potential damage, the consequences of the failure.
Evaluation of the assessed risks in comparison to the client’s risk tolerance.
Report findings, including the recommended mitigation options and their associated residual risks.

Dunster, Julian; Smiley, E. Thomas; Matheny, Nelda; Lilly, Sharon (2017) Tree Risk Assessment Manual – Second Edition International Society of Arboriculture Champaign, Illinois.

Tree Preservation

Tree preservation reasons:

Increased property value.
Aesthetic benefit – people enjoy living and working close to trees.
Improves health and quality of life.
Environmental benefits – lowers cooling cost.
Carbon sequestration.
Water retention.
Wildlife benefits.
Air purification.
Noise reduction (Attenuation).
Cost of replacement – the cost of removing and replacing after development usually exceeds the cost of protection.

Tree Protection Plan

Protection plans are a guide for clients and contractors to follow and when followed properly they will minimize the impact that construction can have on the tree(s). There are (5) phases of construction, the arborist should be a part of all (5) phases.

Planning – The arborist should conduct a tree resource evaluation on the site. The scope of this evaluation should be defined and based on the needs of the homeowner, developer, and/or architect. The goal of the evaluation is to help select trees suitable for preservation. The factors that are considered include location, tree species, age, characteristics, health, structure, soil profile, and proximity to construction. The tree resource evaluation will help guide the design and planning to minimize impacts on trees and areas with desirable trees.
Design – During this phase, the arborist’s recommendations should be presented in the form of a written tree management report. This report should specify which trees are most suitable for preservation and which should be removed to reduce interference and minimize the impact on important trees. Plans need to allow for site access (entry and exit), soil grading and storage, parking, space for operation, utility and drainage corridors, grade changes and excavation, above-ground aerial operation, post-construction landscaping intrusions, material storage, and staging, washout areas, debris piles, tree protection zone fencing and sediment control. The tree protection zone (TPZ) is determined by evaluating the species, its tolerance to construction, the tree age, and the trunk diameter to extrapolate the distance from the trunk the tree protection zone should be established.
Pre-construction – This phase is when the tree removals occur, tree protection zones are established, and building layout and road construction occur. In situations where it is necessary to intrude on the TPZ, guidelines for the tree safe implementation of this work will be included in the plan. Methods for protecting tree health and avoiding damage include soil and root protection, fencing, trunk protection, signage, root pruning, alternatives to trenching, grade change mitigation, irrigation, and plant health care.
Construction – The arborist should be kept in close contact with the contractor, developer, owner, and municipal representative when appropriate, they should be a part of the construction team. Site inspections are needed to maintain the TPZ integrity, look for and prevent tree damage, report any damage or violations and mitigate corrections for this damage. Monitoring for health and pests is a priority during site visits, this includes soil moisture, changes in foliage color, and the density of the foliage and crown. These factors indicate stress and potential health concerns. How often monitoring occurs is dependent on the size of the project and the scope of the work. The arborist should be present during periods when soil is being moved, roads are being built, utilities are being installed, and when trees may be damaged. They should do a minimum of weekly site visits and they should be present during the landscape installation as this is the most common time when trees are damaged.
Post construction – This is when TPZ fencing may be removed, however, it is important that monitoring continues. The monitoring should include soil moisture, mulch maintenance, and insect and disease management. Tree health and structure should be evaluated again and if any changes are detected remedial treatments and actions should be recommended and implemented. The plan should outline a long-term maintenance program to avoid mismanagement or neglect and the potential loss of the tree(s) and the earlier preservation expenses.

Root damage and soil compaction are the leading cause of damage during construction. It is important to remember that mature trees have a balance to keep between the number of roots that exist and the crown they can support. The impact on the roots’ ability to function disrupts this balance. Trees need roots to absorb water, tree roots need soil pore space for water and gas exchange, which is a critical part of root respiration and growth. Soil compaction will reduce the available water and gas and dramatically reduce the tree’s ability to replace the roots it lost during construction. This has a cascading effect, water is suddenly limited and not able to support the crown that formed before construction, sugar production drops off, crowns will begin to die back and show signs of stress, then the arborist is contacted. A tree preservation plan before construction will prevent this from happening. The plans are fact-based guidelines to reduce the impact, protect the tree(s) and provide the correct conditions for maintaining their health. Including the arborist in the planning phase will allow architectural plans to incorporate tree preservation and reduce the impact and overall cost of tree care.

Fite, Kelby; Smiley, E. Thomas (2013) Best Management Practices – Managing Trees During Construction International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, Illinois.

Tree and Plant Appraisal

An appraisal is a systematic process that uses both quantitative and qualitative judgment to develop and communicate an assignment result of either a cost or a value. Plants are living organisms that change over time, are diverse in size, form, and character, and provide a wide range of benefits and utility. These characteristics and the purpose or intended use of the report can directly affect the approach and methods the appraiser uses to determine the cost or value of the plant. There are three appraisal approaches: they are cost, income, and sales comparison. Each approach involves one or more methods and each method may involve one or more techniques. All methods should be considered and are often compared to each other when appraisals are being concluded to ensure the quality of the approach taken. An appraiser relies on professional experience, expertise, and judgment when reconciling the report and the relevance of the approach to the appraisal problem. Data are facts that provide the basis for reasoning discussion or calculations. The exact data needed depends on the approach, method, and technique chosen for the assignment. The collection of the data is a critical component of the tree and plant appraisal. Being precise in the measurements, the methods chosen and documentation ensures more accurate estimates of the cost or value of the plant.

Primary Approaches for Tree and Plant Appraisal

Cost Approach – This approach produces a cost estimate for repairing, replacing, or restoring the utility of the item and is often applied to damaged or destroyed items, inventory, bonds, and insurance claims. There are three methods used for estimating the cost approach for tree and plant appraisal, repair, reproduction, and functional replacement. The repair cost is used when there is damage to a plant or other landscape feature and correcting the damage or mitigating further loss fulfills the assignment. Reproduction cost is the cost to replicate or duplicate the item being appraised; this generally means estimating the cost of replacement with one that provides most or all of the characteristics and benefits of the original. Functional replacement is the cost of substitute items that provide equivalent utility, benefits, or function rather than the cost of a replica. The techniques used for estimating the cost are the direct cost technique, the trunk formula technique, and the cost compounding technique. Direct cost is preferred when plants equivalent to the size of plants being appraised are commonly available. The trunk formula is used to extrapolate the cost to purchase the largest commonly available nursery plant to the size of the plant being appraised. Cost compounding is an extrapolation technique used to estimate the time required for a new planting to either attain equivalent size or provide similar benefits or utility as the subject tree and the compound cost over that period of time. Depreciation is used by appraisers to account for the differences between the cost of the new or ideal item and the item being appraised. The depreciation is applied when the item being appraised has a lower level of quality due to less than ideal features, its placement, or the site it occupies.
Income Approach – This approach is used to appraise income-producing plants or property. These fall into two categories: income-producing and ecological benefit. Income-producing properties include nurseries, tree farms, orchards, vineyards, timber, and forest land. Ecological benefits associate value with the benefits of trees and plants. This can include aesthetic, social, and psychological well-being, wildlife habitat, public health, energy savings, reduction in pollution and runoff, and contribution to property value and carbon sequestration. The income approach can be used to assist the owner of an income-producing property to decide if it should be held or sold.
Sales Comparison Approach – This is used by the appraisers to analyze sales transactions and develop an opinion of market value. It uses information from real estate transactions, tax assessments, and third-party real estate appraisals as a basis for estimating the value of landscape items or individual trees. The sales comparison approach can be used when estimating current or diminished property value, analyzing the contribution of plants to overall property values, testing the reasonableness of the cost approach estimate, and valuing commercial timber crops. The sales comparison approach relies on the actions of buyers and sellers to estimate the value. The plant appraiser can analyze the transactions to allocate value among the land and improvements, including trees and landscape.

Clark, Julian; Smiley, E. Thomas; Vicary, Bret P.; Gooding, Richard F.; Duntemann, Mark; Burkhart, Len; Severynen, Pieter Council of Tree & Landscape Appraisers Guide for Plant Appraisal – 10th Edition International Society of Arboriculture Champaign, Illinois.

Tree Forensic Investigation

Tree forensics investigations can be necessary when problems are identified, or an event has occurred that caused injury, damage, or loss to trees or plants. Many tree-related issues can have different causes but similar results. It is important to investigate the site and evaluate the victim before attempting to determine the cause. We follow the seven steps below to ensure the investigation is thorough, accurate, and supported by facts. After the initial conversation, the arborist will present a proposal with the assignment clearly defined. The assignment will include the format recommended for the project which is often based on the intended use of the report. The three report options are a letter, a quick summary of the facts and conclusion, and a short report (3-5 pages) or a full scientific report, which are usually required when litigation is involved.

Recognize the need – We are contacted regarding a tree or plant concern; an event has occurred that has caused injury or death. The cause of the event needs to be determined so responsibility can be established and similar incidents can be prevented.
Define the problem – An investigation begins with a plan; this plan will include the steps that need to be followed to gather the information and solve the problem.
Collect data – All available data needs to be collected before analysis, use experience, expert skills, and scientific tools to measure and ensure an accurate and thorough investigation. Explore all of the facts and avoid theories. Theories at this point can bias the data before it is analyzed, and all of the facts are collected.
Analyze the data – Use education, training, and experience to analyze the collected data. Have competent experts in the required field who can understand the numbers involved in the analysis. It is very important to include only facts and evidence in this process.
Develop hypothesis – Review the known facts and evidence to develop potential theories of what could have caused the event to occur. Each theory will have its potential possibility.
Test the hypothesis – The theories must be fully supported by the known facts and evidence. Any theory not supported by the facts and evidence must be discarded.
Select the final hypothesis – Often only a single cause remains but there are occasions when two or more theories cannot be completely excluded. Trees have a long lifespan and can be affected over their life by unrelated events. These can be natural or unnatural and can cause stress and compound the effects of the existing known event.