Abstract

Tattar, Terry A. 1982. The causes and prevention of construction injury. Am. Nurseryman 155(12): 53-56.

Construction disrupts trees probably more than any other human activity. Construction activities directly affect trees and all other environmental elements. Tree health may be affected immediately by the construction, or it may decline progressively. Sometimes evidence of this may not appear until several years after construction has been completed. Because of the time that often occurs between damage and symptom onset, construction injury is frequently misdiagnosed. This article will examine the major categories of construction injury — grade changes, trenching and surface grading — and the ways to prevent and minimize construction injury. Raising the grade even a few inches can result in root suffocation and eventual death. On the other hand, lowering the grade even a few inches can result in severing and removing much of the roots. Trenching is a very common form of injury around street trees, but it is often overlooked because there is little evidence of it after construction.

• © 1983, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.