Natural Notes: Seven Main Defects of Trees
This blog post consists of my notes from a lecture on urban street tree defects, presented by Nick Kuhn, Resource Management Technician with the Forest Preserves of Cook County. The presentation was delivered on September 21, 2016 at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland, Illinois. Introduction All trees experience structural failures in part or whole, including healthy trees. It is impossible to eliminate all risks associated with tree failure. However, recognizing signs or symptoms of compromised tree health can help mitigate or prevent problems. It is important to distinguish signs versus symptoms regarding tree health problems. Signs are physical pieces of evidence of tree health problems. For example, D-shaped holes created by Emerald Ash Borer on a dying Ash tree are signs of an infestation. Symptoms, on the other hand, are physical evidence that indicates a problem. For example, excess epicormic branches emanating from the base of an ash tree could be an indic