The most important reasons for preserving trees, by survey and group (mean scores representing the percentage of projects in which respondents selected a single reason why trees were preserved).
| Reason why trees were preserved | Survey | Group | Total n = 585 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA n = 226 | NADF n = 358 | F value | Arborist n = 246 | Builder n = 69 | Designer n = 202 | F value | ||
| Professional’s awareness | 3.82 | 3.75 | 0.40 | 3.63 a | 4.17 b | 3.89 ab | 5.31 | 3.76 |
| Owner awareness | 3.15 | 3.24 | 0.58 | 3.17 a | 3.84 b | 3.02 a | 11.28 | 3.20 |
| Unusually valuable trees | 2.59 | 2.73 | 1.88 | 2.56 a | 2.91 a | 2.74 a | 2.65 | 2.68 |
| Laws or ordinances | 2.21* | 2.94* | 32.13 | 2.62 a | 1.91 b | 2.91 a | 10.93 | 2.66 |
Between surveys, an asterisk indicates means are significantly different at p < .05; d.f. = 1, 582.
Among groups, means within a row followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < .05; d.f, 2, 514.
A score of 5 indicated that the item was the most important reason for preserving trees in 76% to 100% of projects, 4 indicated most important in 51% to 75% of projects, 3 indicated most important in 26% to 50% of projects, 2 indicated most important in 1% to 25% of projects, and 1 indicated not important in any projects.