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arb culture

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Everything posted by arb culture

  1. arb culture
    Sorry Hama, I didn't notice the date on the thread. But I'm not trying to play chess with anyone. I do know some people are wanting to impress, and some are wanting to share, and some are wanting to learn, and some are probably wanting to do all three etc.. Personally, I'm just a bit of a geek, and I enjoy the opportunity to talk about the things which interest me - one of which is trees.
  2. arb culture
    When I did TO work we used to get notifications for all sorts of things which don't necessarily require a site visit (although I hasten to add I did visit them because that was the rules I was working to). Judgement and guidance would of course be needed. Visiting sites such as: crown lift a tree to 5m removing only branches of less than 5cm diamter and in accordance with BS3998, or remove small cherry of little value as shown in attached photo, or remove deadwood from crown, or fell dead tree as shown etc. made me feel that my time could be better spent elsewhere. As for the other side of your question, that it would produce too much work; are you therefore suggesting that the felling of valuable trees is okay just because you, as tree officer, haven't got the time to check whether or not the tree is valuable before it is felled. I really doubt that, so I'm not quite sure what your objection is?
  3. arb culture
    In my time spent as tree officer I very quickly got to know which areas had the valuable trees, and I also got to know many of the notable individual trees - it didn't take long - a few months perhaps. Have you ever worked as a TO Bundle?
  4. arb culture
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention one of the factors which would need to be included. At the moment, LA land areas are already designated as built up or rural. The new system would only apply to built up (ie urban and suburban) areas. Rural areas wuld be controlled in a similar way as they are now -by the forestry act and the proposed new streamlined and consistent TPO legislation. By the way, this idea is not mine, I'm just saying that over time I've come round the the originator's way of thinking. The tree officer who suggested this was based in a mainly urban an peri urban LA, but with significant rural (but well populated) areas.
  5. arb culture
    Very sobering. A very worthwhile and interesting post Gibbon, Thanks.
  6. arb culture
    Tony, I did say 'similar', not 'the same same as' current CA legislation. The ins and outs are way too complicated to go into at the moment (not enough time sorry), but there would be no major need for an increase in manhours required by the TO if the legislation is both streamlined and effective. There would be no paperwork for most trees - the notification comes in, as TO you already know the area (and possibly even the tree) in question so you ask yourself -is it worthy of a TPO? - if not, just make a note and let them get on with it - if it is then you put a TPO on it and you have just complied with your legal duty to protect trees under section 147. A standard statement in the council database is all that's usually required - no paperwork.
  7. arb culture
    If you're self emloyed, it's not arbs you need to impress, it's the clients. So why are you so angry with us arbs? - it's not our fault.
  8. arb culture
    You need to ask your client, this is really important! If you can't ask the end client, ask the people you're subbing for.
  9. arb culture
    Because it damages the tree and you should usually be able to make a decision just using your eyes, and sometimes with the help of a mallet and a non invasive probe. In over 15 years of working in arboriculture I've only ever taken four core samples, and these were as a last resort on trees which the owners refused to pay for more expensive analysis. Using your eyes, training and experience should be enough for almost all trees you look at.
  10. arb culture
    I know this a thread about VTA, but in the discussion there are a number of comments about tree pulling tests. A word of warning about tree pulling tests - see if you can find a convincing explanation in the work of the pro-pullers regarding the ways in which shear stresses affect hollow trees, or how heavy limbs affect the hollow stems they are attached to - I can't. As regards the T/R ratio - I don't think Claus is suggesting that just because a tree is more than 70% hollow it is necessarily dangerous, only that if a tree is less than 70% hollow it should be considered no more dangerous than a solid tree (assuming no other factors of course). His published research data clearly shows many trees more than 70%hollow which haven't fallen over.
  11. arb culture
    That's what I thought. But if there is another method people use then it would be good to hear about it.
  12. arb culture
  13. arb culture
    I think I might be thinking of a less severe reduction than you? There's no cyclical nature to the ones I've recommended. The regrowth is not significantly different to the normal growth rate and pattern of an unpruned tree - it just occurs on a slightly shorter limb. I'll try and dig out some photos at some point.
  14. arb culture
    Marcus, Thanks for the reply. Get well soon!
  15. arb culture
    Also, I've recommended that a few were reduced. But this was a specific reduction on individual limbs which were long, heavy, or showed poor taper - rather than an all over reduction which seems a bit pointless. So far, all have responded well. Although one or two have dropped limbs when people haven't carried out my recommendations.
  16. arb culture
    Alliaria, this one is very tricky. I've been surveying horse chestnuts with bleeding canker for over 5 years. From my own observations this is what I've found. The severity of the infection seems to vary from tree to tree. Those which are worst affected can die or have massive die back in a matter of months or even weeks. Once a major limb suffers severe die-back it is very likely to fail. However, minor die back or yellowing is not usually a sign of imminent failure. In the vast majority of cases infected trees manage to remain fairly healthy and safe even when infected. But when a tree is infected it can change in severity very quickly, so an annual re-inspection too long, it needs to be at least once every 6 months but preferably more. Sorry for the long reply, but it's a tricky issue.
  17. arb culture
  18. arb culture
    You are absolutely right, but two points: It's produced by the woodland trust for the woodland trust, so I assume it meets their needs. Secondly, it's a good starting point if you've never done one before. You can read through it and think, "I like this bit", "That bit's pointless", or "They haven't included this bit". Which is what you have already done, I think. From there you can build your own template to suit your client's needs.
  19. arb culture
    There's a lot of issues in this thread which are going to get lost and confused. Perhaps it would be better to stick to one theory at a time? In response to the core sample question - there is a very real danger that when extracting a core sample you will damage the sample in the process of extraction. Next time you take a core sample have a look at the direction of grain at both ends of the sample, often the sample is twisted - this shows that there is at least some damage to the sample. The precise strength and stiffness of a sample can be greatly influenced by the way in which the sample was obtained. I'm not criticising Mattheck though - his theories and observations are based on sound engineering physics and experimentation. His simplification can be deceptive though. Many of his statements are considerably more complex and insightful than a lot of people at first understand. He also seems to get misquoted quite a lot, as he has been in this thread in few places.
  20. arb culture
    KiK, I just wanted to let you know that I've used both HCC and Myerscough, and I had a positive experience with both of them.
  21. arb culture
    In the recent NTSG draft they suggested that unqualified gardeners should be able to provide preliminary arboricultural advice. If that document is used as a benchmark, we'll see a lot more of this kind of poor arboriculture.
  22. arb culture
    Hama, I don't know you or your work, so how could I possibly think I was better than you? Although I'm qualified to masters level I certainly don't think that only degree qualified arbs should be doing surveys. I have guys helping me out with no formal academic qualifications, but who through years of experience and applied intelligence are bloody good at making sensible recomendations regarding tree condition. How did you get with your survey by the way, I hope it all went smoothly?
  23. arb culture
    I posted a response to this the other day and it seems to have mysteriously vanished. I'll try again. Thanks Marcus for the detailed response. I'll give it the attention it deserves before posting a reply. In the meantime, is what Yorkshireman says correct? Will you take responsibility/liability for any recommendation made using your system?
  24. arb culture
    I'm kind of in agreement with you Doug, but not totally. All Hama was asking for was a template. There's nothing wrong with that, if someone's got a template their willing to share then Hama gets lucky and saves himself a lot of work creating his own -why re-invent the wheel if you don't have to. After all, lots of consulting arbs use others templates (THREATS, BS5837:2005, QTRA, AMUIG, etc) Although, having said that, all my templates are copyright, and I certainly wouldn't share them without a fee - they took a lot of work/research in the creating.
  25. arb culture
    Hama, like alliaria above, I've paid for all my own education/training as well. What support do you see others getting that you're not?

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