Science of Arboriculture

Judy Fakes, first arborist appointed as full-time judicial officer in Australia, discusses the model in New South Wales for resolving disputes involving trees. This model focuses specifically on solving disputes about trees and property between neighbors and acts as a reference for future legislations in other territories. This presentation was given at the ISA 2011 Annual Conference in Australia.

ISA Certified Arborist Mark Bridge, a member of the Swiss Arborist Association and the international work safety committee, discusses the global development, manufacturing and quality assurance of personal protective equipment (PPE). Listen today as he touches on topics such as outsourcing, traceability, and regulations; and learn about the present-day challenges of inspecting climbing equipment and the implications for the end user. This presentation was given at the ISA 2011 Annual Conference in Australia.

In this episode of Science of Arboriculture, Daniel Burcham discusses the relationship between urban soil properties and street tree performance in Singapore. Burcham’s presentation focuses on a few tropical trees such as the raintree (Samanea saman), yellow flame (Peltophorum pterocarpum), Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), and Senegal mahogany (Khaya senegalensis). Burcham is an arboriculture researcher at the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology in the National Parks Board, Singapore and this presentation was given at the ISA 2011 Annual Conference in Australia.

When repairing a sidewalk, how close can the roots of a nearby tree be cut? Dr. Tom Smiley discusses the important issue of how root cutting impacts tree stability at variant distances. Find out the optimal distance for root cutting and the difference dry or wet soil can make on a tree’s stability on this month’s episode of Science of Arboriculture.

Dr. Tim Newson analyzes the performance of tree structures in severe winds to better understand wind speeds and the Fujita scale. What critical wind speeds lead to failure for different tree species? Find out more about his inquiries and how they apply in arboriculture on this month’s episode.

What is good branch structure? And how does determining good branch structure affect our pruning standards? These are questions Dr. Gregory Dahle will discuss in this episode of Science of Arboriculture. Dr. Dahle focused his experiments on analyzing how the branching structure of decurrent trees change their form and function over time.

There has been much anecdotal evidence about the effects of aerated compost teas on soil, but there have been few peer-reviewed studies on the topic. In this episode of Science of Arboriculture, Dr. Bryant Scharenbroch, soil scientist at The Morton Arboretum, discusses his experiments with aerated compost tea. Topics in this lecture include what makes “good dirt” in the urban landscape, Dr. Scharenbroch’s process for making aerated compost tea, as well as his results in comparing aerated compost tea to other treatments.

In this episode of Science of Arboriculture we will hear from Lothar Göcke, about the use of tomography equipment to detect decay in trees. In his presentation, Lothar also talks about the technology behind the use of tomograms for tree inspection as well as how to interpret tomograms for different tree species.

Phytophthora cinnamoni and other species of Phytophthora are a common problem for landscape plants. Phytophthora and laurel oak ( Quercus laurifolia ) have lived simultaneously in the southeast United States for close to 200 years, but recently the fungi has become a serious issue among laurel oaks. Join us for this episode of Science of Arboriculture as Dr. Steve Jeffers discusses this problem, and treatment methods for preventing death among laurel oaks.

In this episode of Science of Arboriculture, we will hear Philip van Wassenaer, president of the consulting firm Urban Forest Innovations, Inc. His talk focuses on the use of pulling tests for real-world tree stability assessments. In this podcast you will learn about principles of tree statics and how they can be utilized to evaluate tree stability.