churchyard oaks.....

[kevwrenn]

i have been asked to quote for reductions on 7 oaks in my village churchyard. there is to be some work done on a mausoleum attatched to the building, and the architect involved has expressed concern at the proximity of the oaks (15 to 20 feet). there is a six foot deep trench around the church in the area concerned with no evidence of roots showing. It is the roots he is worried about. i am not convinced that the roots are causing, or likely to cause a problem to the building, also i dont think a crown reduction will make a lot of difference to his percieved problem (but i am willing to be told otherwise!). any advice welcomed. I am willing and prepared to undertake the work if it is beneficial, but as the church has a very small congregation, and limited budget, i am reluctant to give them a bill for unneccesary work. what are the collective opinions of arbtalk????

[Bundle 2]

What is his perceived problem>?

[kevwrenn]

he thinks the roots are affecting the foundations of the mausoleum!

[Bundle 2]

He needs to be guided by the educated arbosist to a place where magic begins to make sense...If there are no roots to be found from the digging and trench excavations close to the building foundations its a fair bet God would need to be somewhat dislpleased and so moved to perform a miracle; the culmination of which would be roots undrmining the fabric of the building by some miraculous powers....a bit like LOLER inspectord have....! Patience is a virtue brother!!!

[kevwrenn]

these trenches are not recent excavations, they have been there since the mausoleum was built 300 years ago, i dont know their purpose, but i can see no roots. apparently there is a tomb under the mausoleum which was blocked up during the construction, as part of the planning consent. I have removed a couple of branches on a tree to provide access for the specialist builders undertaking the work, and also removed a large dangerous oak over a year ago, but dont want to undertake any work which will offer no benefit to the church building, and i fail to see how a crown reduction would result in a root reduction anyway.... architects...... only met 1 good one... would a crown reduction impact on root growth in any way at all?????

[Bundle 2]

Its a fallasy to assume that cutting back the crown will in some magical way be mimicked below ground by the root system...but then you knew that!!!

[Will Hinchliffe]

Many other things for the architect and structural engineer to consider and justify but it has been shown that crown reductions can be effective.

 

A crown reduction will decrease the leaf area of the tree and initially it will reduce the amount of water removed from the ground by transpiration. This will allow the soil moisture content to recover.

[Amelanchier]

Many other things for the architect and structural engineer to consider and justify but it has been shown that crown reductions can be effective.

 

A crown reduction will decrease the leaf area of the tree and initially it will reduce the amount of water removed from the ground by transpiration. This will allow the soil moisture content to recover.

 

And why would soil moisture deficit be a problem??? Are we on a clay soil??? If we're not then I would suggest that pruning to mitigate moisture extraction is pointless.

Before even picking up a saw I would be asking:-

 

What is the soil type?

How old is the mausoleum??

What depth are the foundations?

What design are the foundations??

Has there been any historical movement of the structure???

Has a survey to BS 5837:2005 been done, showing RPAs??

Is there any evidence of root activity at the edge of the structure??

What is the engineers understanding of tree root systems??

 

 

I wouldn't touch the Oaks unless there's a bloody good reason to do so.

[Amelanchier]

would a crown reduction impact on root growth in any way at all?????

 

It would but its a flawed methodology IMO. The tree will attempt to maintain a "root to shoot" equilibrium. So by hacking off shoots, you will kill roots. And vice versa.

 

Problem is, what does a 20% reduction of the canopy result in with regard to the root system???

 

I don't know...

 

I think its unlikely to be an exact correlation, so how can you professionally judge the implications?? I don't think you can.

[Will Hinchliffe]

Fair point. I was trying to say that crown reduction wont affect where the roots are but does have an effect.