The Wooded Lot: Homeowner And Builder Knowledge And Perception

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Factors most important to homeowners when purchasing wooded residential property.

Factor	Mean^*	No. respopdents
The presence of trees and other vegetation on my property	4.74	61
Country-like atmosphere	4.23	64
Resale value	4.18	62
The presence of trees and other vegetation on neighboring properties	4.10	63
Location in relation to work	3.75	63
Presence of wildlife on my property	3.67	64
Location in relation to schools	3.67	62
Species of trees and other vegetation on my property	3.66	64
Presence of wildlife on neighboring properties	3.60	64
Architecture of house	3.51	59
Location in relation to an urban center	3.44	62
Bank loan accessibility	3.27	60

↵* Strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, neutral = 3, disagree = 2, strongly disagree = 1.

Table 2.

Responses to the question “Why are trees and associated vegetation valued?”

Factor	Mean^*	No. respondents
Lend beauty to property	4.64	63
Enhance resale value	4.46	63
Provide screening	4.36	63
Modify temperature extremes	4.36	62
Provide wind control	4.27	63
Provide habitat for wildlife	4.18	62
Provide a suitable environment for recreation	3.98	61
Purify the air	3.58	62

↵* Strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, neutral = 3, disagree = 2, strongly disagree = 1.

Table 3.

Homeowner responses to questions concerning the woodlot environment.

Question no.	Subject	Percent responding correctly
6	Shade tree value of 25-inch red oak	3.1
11	Knowledge of tree species	49.1^*
15	Pruning techniques	45.3
16	Effectiveness of pruning paint	10.9
17	When to avoid tree fertilization	40.6
19	Knowledge of wildlife	11.5^*
20	Location of local bird nests	73.0
21	Maintenance of area around tree base	40.6
23	Contamination of groundwater	81.3

↵* These numbers reflect respectively the mean number of tree and wildlife species correctly identified.

Table 4.

Activities reported by home builders on wooded lots.

Activity	% of builders
Trees removed	93.8
Trenching for underground utilities	93.8
Driveways placed within 0 to 10 feet of trees	87.5
Heavy equipment passing near base of tree	81.3
Raising of grade (fill)	62.5
Foundations placed within 0 to 10 feet of trees	62.5
Sidewalks placed within 0 to 10 feet of trees	56.3
Trees pruned	56.3
Storage of building materials around the base of trees	50.0
Temporary soil storage around the base of trees	43.8
Trees or shrubs planted	37.5
Lowering of the grade	25.0

Table 5

Builder responses to questions concerning the woodlot environment.

Question no.	Subject	Percent responding correctly
14	Soil texture and compaction	18.8
15	Soil texture and water movement	93.8
16	Moisture state and soil compaction	87.5
17	Pruning techniques	56.3
18	Effectiveness of pruning paint	18.8
19	Grass tree competition	18.8
20	Effect of mulch on trees	62.5
21	Soil fill and trees	75.0
22	Heavy equipment and relation to root damage	50.0
23	Pruning to compensate for root loss	50.0
24	Application of fertilizer-root damage	6.3
25	Extension of tree roots	81.3
26	Cement wastewater and soil pH	75.0
27	Tree longevity of selected species	48.5^*
28	Benefits of undergrowth vegetation	43.8
29	Shade tolerance of selected species	34.4^*