Alex Palmer's Natural History Notes and Thoughts

T his post consists of my notes from a lecture on tree protection as part of my training to become a certified arborist by the International Society of Arborculture.  The speaker was Luke Engel, a natural resources specialist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and his lecture took place on February 18, 2015 at the Salt Creek Resource Management facility in Willow Springs, Illinois.   Tree support systems include cabling, bracing, and guying.  Support systems are used to reduce the risk of tree failure or to extend the life of a tree.  Cables can be installed to limit limb movement for limbs that are weakly connected (e.g. codominant stems with a lot of included bark).   Cables should be installed 2/3 distance from the crotch to the branch tips for effective support.   A dynamic cable system is less rigid and allows for more sway in the wind.  Cabling hardware includes 7 strand grade galvanized cables , which are easy and malleable to work with.   Extra high strength (EHS) cab

T his post consists of my notes from a lecture on tree pruning as part of my training to become a certified arborist by the International Society of Arborculture.  The speaker was Luke Engel, a natural resources specialist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and his lecture took place on February 18, 2015 at the Salt Creek Resource Management facility in Willow Springs, Illinois.   Pruning objectives Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure.  It is used to optimize tree health and aesthetics.   One of the main objectives for pruning is to reduce potential branch failure (safety ).     Thinning the canopy of a tree can also allow for better light and wind penetration, and it can also influence fruiting or flowering.  Views can be improved and the overall aesthetic quality of the tree can be enhanced.  Trees can also be pruned to a desired shape or size.   Pruning cuts There are some main types of pruning cuts that arborists can perform on trees.  All types of pr

T his post consists of my notes from a lecture on plant healthcare as part of my training to become a certified arborist by the International Society of Arborculture.  The speaker was Rob Klamcynski, a natural resources specialist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and his lecture took place on February 6, 2015 at the Salt Creek Resource Management facility in Willow Springs, Illinois.   When discussing plant health, there is some important terms to distinguish:  vitality versus vigor.   Vitality is a plant's ability to deal with stress.   Vigor  is a plant's adaptability to various environmental conditions such as soil conditions, moisture, and cold or heat.   An example of vitality in trees are trees planted in parking lots.  These trees often have reduced growth, their stomata close more frequently, and their leaves shed early.   Trees exhibit resource allocation among four primarily functions:  (1) maintenance, (2) growth, (3) storage, and (4) defense.  Limited

T his post consists of my notes from a lecture on plant disorders as part of a training to become a certified arborist by the International Society of Arborculture.  The speaker was Rob Klamcynski, a natural resources specialist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and his lecture took place on February 6, 2015 at the Salt Creek Resource Management facility in Willow Springs, Illinois.   Introduction There are challenges to diagnosing tree health problems.  First of all, trees cannot talk and cannot tell us what is wrong.  It is up to the arborist to ask all of the necessary questions.  The history of the tree's health is hard (or impossible) to come by and the answers might not be accurate.  Most of the time, it is too late.   Plant Problems When analyzing a tree's health, the arborist must determine if the problem is a living agent or a non-living agent.   Living agents  include biotic disorders such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and others.   Non-living agents inclu