Root ball weight calculation

[David Riding]

Is the a general formula for estimating the weight of a root ball going of say dbh, I realise this will fluctuate from tree to tree & change depending on ground conditions.

[educated arborist]

BS4043 clearly states: The diameter of the prepared root ball should be at least 10 times the diameter of the stem measured 1 m above the ground.

its best to check that the supplier has adheered to this for the best chance of survival, however when i have transplanted some extra, extra heavy stadards (12m+ & 60cmg+) i have found some root balls to be lacking and found out that this is due to the tree spades being too small. I often wondered if any1 in the states has/ makes an extra big one?

so best thing to do is probably measure the root ball as aposed to the dbh & work off a density of 1metric tonne/ m3

[Stephen Blair]

  David Riding said:

Is the a general formula for estimating the weight of a root ball going of say dbh, I realise this will fluctuate from tree to tree & change depending on ground conditions.

 

a big set of scales:001_smile:

[daveatdave]

a m3 of loose top soil is 1.2 metric tons, compacted is 1.7 and allow for water content

[David Riding]

at the moment for clearance work I just estimate number of trees and then times it by a constant weight but would like to be a little more precise.